Solace and a Smokescreen
by gothraven89
Summary: It's like Avengers Tower gets turned into a battlefield when Loki and Bucky meet. More often then not they are at each other's throats. However, do these two former villains really hate each other as much as they want the world to believe. WARNING: SLASH! Don't like don't read. FLAMES WILL BE IGNORED BUT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM WELCOME. Reviews are Love! Apologies for any OOC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Marvel Universe or Disney, The Amazing Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, or anyone else involved with the movies or comics are the ones who do. I am not making any profits from this writing, it is all for the purposes of fun and creative writing.

Author's note: Sorry if anything seems OOC, just wrote what was in my head because I like this pairing.

Solace and a Smokescreen

Chapter 1

It was early evening over New York City, while the city itself when about its business with regular shops winding down after a long day while the night clubs and other establishments that stayed open late were all winding up for another busy night in the city that never sleeps, at Avenger's tower, which stood tall and gleaming against the city-scape, chaos had erupted in the communal living room where everyone had gathered. It had started off normal enough, but just a supposedly wrong look had set off yet another appalling row between two of the newest members of the Avengers.

" You would do well to curb your tongue, you one-armed ant, for I am fully capable of ripping it clear out of your miserable skull if I so pleased!"

Loki's poison green eyes flashed dangerously with anger as he pulled at the restraining arm his brother Thor had around him. The cause of his anger was a few feet across, being restrained by Steve Rogers. Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, former weapon of Hydra.

" I'd like to see you try you slimy overgrown eel, Norse God or not, I will bash your face in." Bucky growled with his long chocolate-brown hair almost fanned out about his head as he tried futilely to tear himself out of Steve's firm and unyielding hold. Around him the other Avengers stood gathered, watching the confrontation between two of the team's more recent additions.

Clint Barton was glaring daggers at Loki, but that was nothing new, while Natasha Romanov was staring at the scene as cool and impassive as ever. Tony Stark was watching the almost fray between Thor's "reformed" megalo-maniacal, trickster of a brother and Steve's recovering, ex-super assassin best friend with an amused glint in his brown eyes. And finally, Bruce Banner was quietly sitting on a sofa watching the scene, for once not having a foreboding green tint to his skin and features, it was like even the Hulk knew at this point better than to get in between Loki and Bucky.

It had been a good nine months since Thor had beamed down from Asgard with a sour-faced Loki in tow, informing them that their father, Odin had decreed that as part of his rehabilitation and reformation, Loki was to fight alongside Thor and the rest of the Avengers, and to help rebuild the city he had nearly toppled, with the added stipulation that his magic would be taken should he use it to harm any of his teammates or innocents. The Avengers, except for Thor had not been very pleased by this, and neither had Loki from the way he had stayed silent and only glared back at them.

Then after the whole mess with Hydra and SHIELD, Steve had gone searching for his own lost one, and found Bucky some seven and a half months ago, ironically at the Smithsonian in Washington one day. After a stint in the medical wing to deal with a nasty infection that had set in where his metal arm was attached, Bucky had been given a clean bill of health and was dealing with his memories slowly coming back to him, both the good ones and that bad. Since the Avengers no longer answered to SHIELD, Loki and Bucky were both brought into the fold without any red tape or what have you. Things had been alright for the most part, while Loki never did anything to ingratiate himself to those he lived with, he would always be there in a battle watching out for everyone, and they in turn would begrudgingly thank him and leave him alone cause he seemed to prefer it that way. That all changed when Loki and Bucky first laid eyes on each other. Sure, whenever they were on call to defend against any threat to the city, everyone worked together, but when it was the off hours and everyone was home...

To say that it was like a spark to a tinderbox soaked in gasoline would be an understatement. It was like Loki and Bucky were at each other's throats in the blink of an eye, when in truth it had actually taken the two a couple of months to finally blow up at each other, with Steve and Thor scrambling to keep their respective loved one from either being fried by magic or pummeled by a metal arm. This was just the latest row that they were all witnessing, somebody just looked at the other the wrong way, and then Bucky grumbled something quietly and it equaled to a fist fight almost breaking out between the Norse God and the former assassin.

" Brother, you will calm down now!" Thor ordered sternly as he tightened his hold around Loki.

" Bucky, stop it! C'mon man, just calm down! "Steve shouted himself as he started dragging a still fuming Bucky out of the communal living room area towards one of the elevators, no doubt taking Bucky back down to his rooms on the floor below Steve's to cool off.

Thor did the same, dragging a still very much irate Loki off down the other hallway towards a different elevator, no doubt to take Loki back up to the floor they shared near the penthouse.

" Well, that was the usual." Tony said flatly as he headed towards the bar to get himself some scotch.

" At least they haven't killed each other... yet." Clint said before he headed into the kitchen to grab a beer. Natasha simply rolled her eyes and headed to where Bruce was already sitting with the remote in his hand.

" I don't get it, why can't those two ever stand to be in the same room together?" Bruce asked.

" Some people just can't get along from the get go." Natasha said simply with a shrug before she asked Bruce to turn to a good movie channel, may as well watch something interesting since dinner would not be for another couple of hours.

When dinner time finally came along, surprisingly everyone came for the pizza and tacos that had been ordered. Loki was dressed in a less formal version of his Asardian armor, much like Thor was as well. Thor kept Loki by his side as they sat with everyone else at the large round dining table. Steve and Bucky were seated at the opposite end, Steve in a button up shirt and khakis while Bucky was in a large baggy hoodie and jeans with his long hair had been pulled back in a loose ponytail. Neither Bucky nor Loki looked across at each other or anyone else as they ate in silence, but everyone could feel the tension crackling in the air. Thankfully, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Tony were all seated on either side of the two pairs, providing some much needed space. There were quiet conversations going on around them, but Loki and Bucky were hyperaware of only each other and silent for the most part.

Loki used a knife and fork to cut and eat his slice of pizza while Bucky quietly munched on a crunchy taco. After dinner, everyone went about their separate ways. Clint and Steve decided to stick around and watch a movie in the living room, Bucky opting to stick close to Steve while Natasha headed off to her room. Tony headed off for his lab with Bruce by his side.

" I am going to my room." Loki said flatly, and before Thor could even reply, the Trickster teleported away in a flash of green light.

Looking sad for a moment, Thor shook his made a B-line for the communal kitchen area and reached for one of the cupboards, pulling out a box of his favorite Midgardian treats, pop-tarts before he joined the three guys in the living room to watch the movie, something called 'Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls.'

While the others laughed out loud at many of Jim Carrey's wild antics, Bucky allowed himself only a small smile at the appropriate moments. In all honesty, he really wasn't in the mood for humor. About halfway through the film, Bucky took his leave, telling Steve that he would be turning in. He gave Steve his reassurances that he would be fine, to which Steve reluctantly let him go. He said his goodbyes to Clint and Thor and then headed for the elevator. With a sigh, Bucky asked JARVIS to take him down to his floor.

It was still unnerving to Bucky just how advanced technology had become, to where there was now a disembodied voice you could ask for anything, even the floor you wanted to go on an elevator. With a posh British accent no less. Bucky let out a small sigh through his nostrils as the elevator came to a smooth stop on his floor and the door slid open with a soft chime.

" Thanks JARVIS." Bucky said as he looked up towards the ceiling of the elevator with a small smile.

" Of course Mr. Barnes, have a good night sir." Came JARVIS' crisp voice from above.

Bucky stepped out of the elevator and walked past the dimly lit private living room area, heading for his bedroom. At first Steve had been adamant that they share a floor, but in the end he had relented when Bucky had simply told him that he needed his own space. With a light groan, Bucky unzipped his hoodie and pulled it off, leaving him in the plain white t-shirt he wore underneath, and with his bionic arm no longer hidden as he reached the door to his bedroom.

Bucky pushed the door open and stepped inside his dimly lit bedroom. It was simple and sparsely furnished with the essentials, a queen-sized bed with white sheets and a charcoal gray comforter, a night stand and drawers for storage, not that he had anything really. And there was a hidden compartment behind the wall across from his bed where he kept his battle armor. Other than that there really was nothing about the room that was out of the ordinary, and its owner hadn't really been much for decorating as of yet.

Bucky pulled the door shut behind him and locked it before he made a B-line for the drawers that stood by the wall parallel to his bed. With a sigh, and feeling worn from a day full of training with Steve and Natasha and medical check-ups with Bruce, Bucky pulled open one of the middle drawers and pulled out a pair of simple black sleeping pants. Wordlessly, Bucky headed across the room and ducked into his bathroom. Like everything in the tower, the bathroom was of a good size and fully stocked. Bucky divested himself of the clothes he had on and quickly placed them in the hamper, donning the sleeping pants and then going about his nightly routine. He mechanically brushed his teeth and washed his face. He pulled his hair free of the ponytail and ran his hands, one of flesh and bone, the other of hardened steel through the dark brunette lock that just reached his shoulders.

Steve had been trying to get him to cut it but Bucky had grown partial to the length and wouldn't budge. Bucky stood before his bathroom mirror and simply looked at himself for several long moment. At times it felt like he was looking at a ghost, that he was the Winter Soldier looking back at Sgt. James Buchanan Barnes, the hardened killer staring back at the ordinary man he one was. Other times it was the other way around, and he was Bucky and the Winter Soldier staring back at him with cold, dead eyes. Some days were harder than others, today was just one of those tiring ones. Today he almost felt like he was just Bucky staring at Bucky... almost. With another sigh, Bucky turned away from his reflection and turned off the light as he exited the bathroom.

Instead of calling on JARVIS, Bucky hit the button on the wall to lower the blinds so that only a few slivers of light from outside could come in. Once that was done, Bucky made his way over to his bed, shutting off the bedside lamp that was the only other source of light in the room before he climbed under the covered of his bed and lay silent on his back, gazing up at the blank ceiling. He gave a quick glance to the alarm clock that accompanied his bedside lamp.

It read 11:30 PM, late enough. Bucky turned away from the clock and settled onto his side under the covers. He closed his eyes and simply breathed, willing sleep to come.

Except it simply wouldn't, because an hour later with it well past midnight found Bucky laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling once more, not really looking at anything.

There was a stillness in the entire room, the only sound being Bucky's mildly agitated breathing. Then without any warning there was a soft flash of green light off to Bucky's left. The former super-assassin however, didn't startle or give any other kind of alarmed reaction. He just kept staring up at the ceiling even as the sound of feet shuffling across the room toward the bed caught his sharp ears, followed by the bed dipping as his late night visitor joined him. This other person lay beside him, just as silent, and just as still, the only sound being their breathing mingling with Bucky's own. It was Bucky who finally broke the impasse.

" Sorry for calling you an overgrown eel earlier." Bucky's words brought out a light huff of laughter from his companion, who replied in kind.

" There is no need to apologize, I was the one who called you a one-armed ant first. As your Midgardian saying goes, I believe that makes us even." Bucky finally turned his head to his left to lay eyes on his bedfellow, his shadowed blue eyes meeting those of a soft emerald green, no longer bright and poisonous with anger.

Across from the Winter Soldier lay Loki of Asgard, clad in a loose green tunic and black sleeping pants. Almost as one, the pair each turned onto their sides so that they were facing each other with only sparse inches between them as Bucky spoke.

" Yeah, I guess it does." He paused before continuing.

" I didn't think you would come tonight." To this, Loki's lips quirked in a half-smile as he explained.

" It was tricky, Thor was up late tonight so I had to wait until he had carried out his expected poking of his head into my room to see that I was still in it. I conjured a copy before I teleported here, just in case. Sir JARVIS would have sounded the alarm only if had I teleported clear out of the tower."

Bucky nodded and then grew serious, his blue eyes gazing intensely back at Loki, the desire in them clear for the Asgardian to see. There was a beat of charged silence, and then Bucky was leaning forward, closing whatever distance remained between him and Loki. Loki leaned in too, his lips parting for Bucky as the mortal sealed his own to them. Loki smoothly turned onto his back, his arms wrapping around Bucky with his long fingered hands splayed across the smooth expanse of Bucky's bare back.

As they kissed, it was not the rough battle for dominance one would have assumed given the individuals who were involved. Instead, it was slow and searing. Bucky kept himself braced up above Loki with his bionic arm, while his flesh and bone hand reached down and snaked under the hem of the forest green tunic Loki was wearing. Loki broke away from the kiss with a gasp, his body arching magnificently at Bucky's touch.

" James." Loki breathed, tilting his head back and baring his throat to Bucky, who took the wordless invitation gladly as he surged forward and started ravaging the smooth and pale flesh with his teeth and his tongue.

" You're... You're very lucky I don't bruise from any of this." Loki breathed smugly, gasping as Bucky pressed a particularly hard bite to the place where his neck and shoulder met before the ex-assassin drew back so that he could look Loki in the eye, a light frown marring his brow as he spoke.

" I must be doing something wrong if you can still string a sentence together." Loki grinned brightly up at Bucky, who allowed his mock-frown to turn into a full grin of his own, the kind he never showed to anyone, not even Steve.

If anyone were to have seen them and the way they were smiling at each other, they would have thought that they had stumbled into the twilight zone where Bucky and Loki, two people who were both dangerous in their own right and each with issues that had issues, were actually two buckets of sunshine. It was ridiculous, unbelievable, and any other synonymous adjective, and yet there they were, two people who made a show of loathing each other so bitterly in front of the rest of the world, grinning at each other with nothing but a pure kind of joy at simply being with each other. With a chuckle, Loki reached up and cupped Bucky's cheek, a mischievous glint in his green eyes as he spoke.

" I have many names, among them is Silvertongue, it'll take more than a few kisses on the neck to make me lose my ability with words, dear Soldier of Winter."

The quirk of one onyx eyebrow just confirmed to Bucky the challenge that had been thrown down. It served to push all of the right buttons for Bucky, who never could back down from a challenge. Loki grinned widely when he heard the low growl that emanated from Bucky at his words, and Lok was still grinning when Bucky surged forward and sealed his mouth firmly over the Asgardian's. And yet, there was still gentleness in this kiss despite the steadily rising head. Loki returned the kiss fervently, his hands traveling all along the smooth expanse of Bucky's back, feeling the powerful muscles coiling beneath the skin.

A few moments later, two sets of sleeping pants and a green tunic were tossed over the side of the bed to land on the floor, totally forgotten by their owners.

After that the once silent room was filled with the loud gasps and moans of its two occupants, and also the soft whirring noises from Bucky's arm as hands, flesh and bone, and metallic alike sought out heated flesh and mouths traded deep, hot kisses. While he could easily over-power his enhanced but still mortal lover, Loki gave just enough resistance to make Bucky really work at trying to render his silver tongue speechless. However, Loki was taken off guard when Bucky expertly grabbed him and flipped him onto his front. Loki could not hold back his groan of pleasure this time as Bucky started at the base of his spine and kissed and bit his way up the entire length of Loki's back before going to town on the back of the Asgardian's neck. Things quickly began to escalate further from there, Loki showing Bucky a few of his own moves as he now flipped Bucky onto his back and straddled him. Bucky lashed out and hooked his metal arm around the back of Loki's neck, roughly yanking the Tricksters head down so that he could plunder Loki's mouth.

But as he kissed Loki breathless, Bucky also positioned his body for what he really intended to do. Bucky suddenly pulled away from the kiss, and before the Asgardian could react, Bucky gripped Loki by his pale shoulders and pushed him down while he canted his hips upward. Loki's harsh cry echoed through the room as Bucky finally joined their bodies. A violent shiver wracked through Loki's entire body as he stared down at Bucky with wide eyes, his pupils blown. Bucky gritted his teeth to hold back his gasps at the sensations that were blazing through him, it was like every nerve ending was ignited just from the feel of the Trickster's body above him. With a small snarl, Bucky surged up into a sitting position with his hands going to Loki's hips, pulling down on them to make the Asgardian sink further onto him.

Loki threw his head back and let out another harsh cry of pained pleasure at Bucky's actions. Bucky bit back a moan of his own as he beheld the sight of Loki like this with his pale and lithe body arched magnificently in his arms. With a small sigh of his own, Bucky released the hip he was holding with his bionic arm, trailing his metal fingers up Loki's quivering stomach and heaving chest before finally gripping Loki by his jaw, pulling him down for another searing kiss, which the Asgardian returned whole-heartedly. As they kissed, Bucky growled against Loki's lips and used his body weight to flip them. They broke apart with a harsh gasp and Loki landed on his back with Bucky laying on top of him, their faces flushed and mere inches from each other. Letting out a harsh breath, Bucky spoke.

" Got anything to say now?" He growled as he gasped down at Loki with eyes burning bright with promise.

Loki's face instantly morphed into one of his signature smirks, and he parted his lips to say something, but his voice died before it even got past his vocal cords when Bucky drew his hips back and then surged forward. After that Loki could only let out a choked sputter that ended in a low groan as Bucky started to move above him. Instinctively, Loki reached up and wrapped his arms around Bucky, pulling the other man flush against him as he canted his hips to meet Bucky's thrusts.

Seeing as to how this was the lovemaking between a Norse God and a scientifically enhanced human being, the moans and other sounds of pleasure from the lovers began to get louder and louder a very, very long while later, the tempo slowing getting faster and faster until it finally reached a crescendo. Loki let out a strangled scream, muffled against Bucky's shoulder as he held the mortal tightly. As he felt Loki's body go rigid beneath him, Bucky felt his own release wash over him.

Bucky cried out as with one final surge forward he too went rigid with his back arching, waves of what felt like pure lightening washing over him.

Loki fell backwards onto the bed and looked up at Bucky with hooded eyes, his lips parted and taking in harsh gasps of air. He was mesmerized by the sight of Bucky above him while the ex-assassin was riding out the waves of his climax, the panels of his bionic arm flaring and glinting in the dim light. Loki reached up with trembling hands and took Bucky's face between them as the brunette began to slump forward, finally spent. The pair looked at each other, almost glowing green eyes meeting stark blue even in the darkness.

Gasping to catch his own breath, Bucky gave no resistance as Loki pulled him down on top of him so that his head came to rest over Loki's shoulder. The last few shudders of pleasure washed over the pair as they came down off of their shared high. As he lay their feeling one of Loki's hand rubbing soothingly along his spine, Bucky reached for Loki's other hand with his bionic arm, his metal fingers trailing up the pale and long limb until he reached Loki's elegant fingers and twined them together with his own, squeezing almost painfully hard. Loki smiled into Bucky's dark chocolate colored hair and squeezed Bucky's hand back just as hard, enough to make the metal creak together a little but thankfully not enough to bend anything out of place. The last thing either of them wanted was for Bucky to have to go get the damage repaired and then come up with a plausible story as to how said damage happened.

Bucky suddenly pushed himself up a little so that he could be face to face with Loki, gazing down at Loki with an expectant look on his face. At first Loki frowned, wondering what Bucky wanted and he parted his lips to speak, but in an instant he was letting out a breathless huff of laughter in realization before giving Bucky that soft smile he only ever showed the Winter Soldier. Without uttering a word, Loki leaned up to nuzzle and mouth at Bucky's lightly stubbled jaw. Bucky practically beamed in triumph at the confirmation that silenced the Silvertongue so to speak, smiling in a way that was almost like how he'd grin before every horrible thing that happened to him, both from the war and from HYDRA. Bucky leaned into Loki's ministrations before taking the god's lips in a surprisingly gentle yet probing kiss. Loki let out a soft laugh between kisses as he sank back down onto the mattress, taking Bucky with him.

Bucky nuzzled his face into Loki's pale collarbone, smiling against the alabaster skin. For a while, the pair just breathed, nestled in each other's arms. It was Bucky who finally broke the silence some while later.

" Do you think we should tell everyone about us?" Bucky drew back so that he could look Loki in the eye. The Trickster sighed, his eyes never leaving Bucky's as he reached up to stroke his finger tips along the ex-Assassin's jaw as he spoke.

" It was you who deemed that we keep this relationship a secret, to which I agreed wholeheartedly, so I leave it up to you if you wish to inform our teammates." Then Loki leaned up and pressed his lips to Bucky's in a surprisingly chaste kiss, one that Bucky returned before they drew away and the Trickster continued with steel in his green gaze.

" You know full well I care not for their opinion of me, I fight along side you all as the All-Father dictates, but I still do what I want, and I am with who I want." Bucky smiled softly before he leaned forward so that he too could place a chaste kiss on Loki's lips before he drew back and hovered above the god and he spoke.

" You care about all of us, even Thor. You'd just drop dead before ever admitting it." At this Loki let out a snort, but pointedly did not deny Bucky's words. Bucky's smile turned into a full, triumphant grin. But then it fell away from Bucky's face, a look of uncertainty coming across his features as he spoke.

" What if they separate us?" Loki's eyes grew hard like to emerald as he spoke.

" I'd like to see them try. They would do well to remembers that I am a god who has lived for thousands of years, and that you are no young and naive maiden either. We both wanted to be together, and we have as much right to be as anyone else. They can do nothing, and if they try, all they shall do is lose in the end." Loki growled. Bucky gave Loki and pained look.

" What about Steve? He's my best friend."

" Exactly, he is your best friend, not your father or your keeper. He cares for you greatly, like a brother would, no one can deny that, but that does not mean he gets to have free reign over your life and your decisions. I will readily admit that I am undoubtedly the last person he would ever wish for you to be with, but that is what he thinks, and ultimately it's what you want that matters truly matters to me." Bucky nodded silently at Loki's words, a sadness settling over his features as he spoke.

" Do you think Thor would smash me with that hammer of his if he found out?" The smile dropped from Loki's face, replaced by a deadly serious expression as he spoke.

"He and I may have been able to reconcile our differences and call each other brother once more, but if that blond oaf ever dares to threaten you, then I will forget all such restoration and bring fresh Hell down on his head, and make the altercation with that glider riding imbecile, Green Goblin was it? shortly after we got together look like child's play." Bucky ducked his head to hide that Loki's words had touched him deeply. Wanting to deflect things, Bucky spoke without looking at Loki in an effort to change the mood.

" Cause you love me so much right?" Bucky looked up in time to see Loki with a perplexed look on his angular features that was similar to the one he had worn when Thor had asked him if he thought himself above the Midgardians as the Asgardian spoke.

" Well...yes." Bucky's face grew slack with astonishment at Loki's casual admission, but before he could properly respond, Bucky found himself flat on his back with Loki looming over him, the god having expertly flipped their positions.

Bucky was expecting there would be one of those sardonic smirks on Loki's face, his trademark if you would. Instead the expression on Loki's face could only be described as warily hopeful. It was a sincerely truthful expression on the face of the being known as the God of Mischief and Lies. Bucky stared up at Loki with disbelief written across his face. With his own expression softening, Loki leaned down until his forehead was pressed to the other man's as he spoke.

" I may be known as the God of Lies, but as for right now I speak only the truth. You have my love James Buchanan Barnes." Bucky found his throat was suddenly very tight. Swallowing a bit, Bucky finally spoke.

" Even...Even after everything I've done?" He asked softly as he looked up at Loki with self-loathing swirling in his blue eyes. Loki drew back and smiled down at Bucky sadly before he shook his head.

" What you did in you past was not by your own will, you were under the influence of those who used you as a weapon. What you did was nothing compared to my own actions. No one holds any of your past actions against you, and rightly so. If there is anyone who should be asking it is I."

Then with a sigh, Loki lowered himself onto the bed so that he lay on his side, Bucky turning onto his own side to face him and wrap his bionic arm around Loki's waist as the Asgardian spoke.

" I will not waste time with sugary sentiment and simply say that the blood on my hands trumps that which stains yours a hundred fold. I have darkness in me, and darkness around me. There are few bright spots that I can turn to to get away from this darkness, but one of them is most definitely you James."

Bucky blinked owlishly at Loki, feeling his face heat up at the god's words. Before Bucky could say anything, Loki reached up and cupped his cheek as he spoke.

" So now I ask, can you give me your love even after all that _I_ have done?" Bucky looked Loki in the eye at this, really looked. He could see that behind the pain, and the Asgardian's own self-doubt and loathing, there was this hope, this fragile, almost crystalline hope within those emerald green depths.

Bucky told himself that he would be damned if he were to crush that now or ever.

" I know you're screwed up, and so am I but I can give you this." Bucky said, leaning in for a kiss only for Loki to pull back and smile at him with hooded eyes.

" Give me what James?" Bucky let out a huff of laughter as he smiled back at Loki shyly and spoke.

" My love Loki, I can give you my love." Bucky then reached up with his bionic hand and wrapped a few strands of Loki's silky raven-hued hair between his fingers before giving them a gentle and playful tug, causing Loki to laugh brightly and tilt his head back, baring his throat to Bucky.

" You're such a demanding prick." Bucky said against Loki's throat as he started kissing and biting his way up to the Asgardian's jaw. Loki let his eyes flutter shut as he enjoyed his lover's ministrations before he spoke.

" Your demanding prick." Bucky pressed his lips against Loki's temple as he spoke.

" Yeah, mine." Bucky then pushed Loki onto his back and straddled him, looking down at the god with a predatory glint in his blue eyes as he spoke.

" Now, we got a few hours before sun-up, and there are some things I'd really like to do to you before that, and talking isn't one of them." Loki simple smirked.

" Then by all means, get on with it soldier." Bucky gave another half-laugh before he dove forward and silenced the famous silver-tongue yet again.

It was hours later, with the sky just starting to brighten with the oncoming sun that Loki and Bucky parted. Bucky watched from where he sat propped up against the headboard and with the sheets covering his lower half as Loki dressed. As the tall norse god pulled the green tunic he was wearing back on after he had donned his black sleeping pants Bucky's blue eyes turned their gaze to Loki's long black hair, not slicked back and spiky as he normally wore it, but falling around his shoulders in soft waves and a few curls here and there. This was Loki as he allowed no one but James to see, not even Thor despite their somewhat mended relationship. They may have gotten to the point of calling each other 'brother' again, but there were still a few walls left that Thor needed to break through or maybe even burrow under.

Once he was fully dressed, Loki turned and gave a smile to his silent admirer before stepping over to the bed and taking a seat of the edge along side Bucky. Metal fingers reached out and cupped the side of Loki's neck before gently tugging the raven-haired man forward. Loki gave no resistance and he met Bucky's lips in a last, lingering peck. When they drew away some long moments later, Loki reached out to cover the metal hand on his neck, turning so that he could press and kiss into the palm before he stood up.

" I shall glare at you when we all congregate for the morning meal." To this Bucky just gave a half-smile and nodded as he replied.

" I'll call you something horrible in Russian." Loki gave Bucky one of his best grins before he teleported out of Bucky's room in a flash of soft green light.

Bucky's blue eyes lingered on the spot where Loki had stood for a few moments linger before he gave a small sigh and lay down on his bed. There were a few hours left before sun-up, he may as well get some sleep. Bucky settled in and drifted off for the few hours of sleep he could still get with relative darkness.

When sunlight finally filled the room, Bucky was up when Steve, without fail was knocking at his bedroom door for their daily morning work-outs. As promised, when hours later he and Steve were walking into the communal area to have breakfast with everyone, Loki sent Bucky his best glare across the table as he served himself a fluffy omelette. Bucky in turn called Loki something horrible in Russian that roughly translated to "Ugly Worm Face." It had Natasha smirking from where she was eating her oatmeal, while the other Avengers sat back and watched as Thor and Steve had to once again restrain Loki and Bucky respectively as the two former super-villains tried to get at each other across the breakfast table.

A few moments later found Loki and Bucky being herded out of the communal area by their respective blond, overly protective brothers, both literal and figurative. What no one saw before they disappeared down separate hallways was the loving look Loki and Bucky shared before they schooled their faces. This was their arrangement, this was how they wanted things to be for the time being, everything in their control. But there was one thing that neither Loki or Bucky could control, and that was fate. Fate would soon put these two unlikely lovers in such a situation that their carefully laid smokescreen would be blown away with the wind.

_Two weeks later..._

Chaos.

That was the only way to describe it. All around there were the roars of flames and the screams of innocent civilians as they ran for their lives from the menacing army of green colored Doom Bots that were laying waste to the Manhattan streets.

Doom was at it again. The metal faced mad scientist had unleashed a small army of Doom Bots onto the city, disrupting what had been a peaceful morning. Now the streets of New York were littered with shattered class, upturned and smashed cars, fires had broken out, and people who were injured or dead as the menacing machines trudged through the city, shooting and smashing at everything in their path.

One of the bots was just about to shoot its hand cannon at an abandoned taxi, but instead, the bot was flying backwards and crashing to the street with a hole through its chest.

" You're done shooting." Came Tony's voice through the Ironman suit as he flew onto the scene, using his repulsor cannons to start shooting at several more Doom bots. A few moments later in a flash or blond hair and bright read cape, Thor swooped in and smashed into a large bot, hammer first, landing with a gleeful grin on his face as he started swinging his hammer and taking out bots. With a flash of green light, Loki, clad in his signature horned helmet and golden armor teleported in and started throwing burning hot fireballs at the bot, watching Thor's six. A few minutes later the quinjet was pulling in, bringing the rest of the cavalry. The back of the streamline aircraft opened. Captain American, in his red, white, and blues and with his shield in hand was the first one out, easily jumping down and landing on the street from such a hight. Not a moment after him, Bucky Barnes, clad in a dark blue version of the battle suit he had worn while under Hydra, and with a black mask around his eyes easily made the same jump with his bionic arm gleaming. He landed a few feet away from Steve and fluidly pulled out one of his many guns, shooting at the bots and taking them out with deadly accuracy. Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye was the next out, using a line and repelling down onto the roof of a nearby building, providing eyes above and shooting arrows before he feet were even firmly on the ground. Black Widow was the one who remained in the quinjet, piloting it and providing air-support as she use the airships big guns to take out as many bots as she saw. And finally, the deep shaking of the ground beneath everyone's feet heralding the arrival of the final member of the team. With an inhuman roar, the Hulk in all his green and enraged glory burst onto the scene, the fact that he had had to run all the way to the place the attack was happening only pissing off the rage monster further. Bruce had hulked out before he could get to the jet, so he had had to jump from his floor of the tower and go through an airborne transformation into his green and mean counterpart.

Now the Avengers had arrived, and the brawl could truly begin. But even through the chaos and metal parts flying every which way, and their team mates smashing bots left and right in their own ways, Loki and Bucky both kept an eye on each other. Even as he smashed the bladed end of the spear he had conjured into the face of a bot, Loki was admiring Bucky as the super-assassin punched a bot through the chest with his bionic hands and ripped out the inner wires with his face grim and his blue eyes blazing. Loki bit back a smirk because he knew full well that Bucky was doing the exact same thing. From where he had just killed a Doom bot, Bucky spared a quick glance at Loki, taking in the Asgardian as he expertly swung his spear, with his green cape billowing and his golden armor gleaming. They both found each other insanely hot, as always when they were in battle. But the admiring had to be cut short when there was a loud roar of screeching metal, and the orchestrator of this entire surprise attack made his grand entrance.

Victor Von Doom, otherwise known as Dr. Doom literally rolled in on what looked like a massive juggernaut of a tank with three cannons ready to unleash destruction and death on the city. All of the Avengers, from those who were in the air to those on the ground all faced the canons head on. Loki was only half paying attention to whatever crap Doom spewed about how he was going to win this time for sure, that the Avengers were all gonna die and yaddi yaddi yadda, because his gaze immediately went to Bucky, who returned it with a grim look of his own.

They both thought the same thing, and that was that those canons looked like they were going to be trouble. Thinking fast, Loki turned his attention back to the enemy, hearing Tony's comment about how JARVIS's scans came up with the cannons being filled with burning hot plasma through the com-link they all shared.

Thinking fast, Loki summoned his seidr, his hands glowing green as he raised them high and made a spreading motion just as Doom fired his first volley at the Avengers, both in the air and on the ground. With a loud boom, the cannons unleashed glowing, purplish white energy projectiles at them. But just when these deadly shots were about to hit them, they were stopped by a green forcefield. Everyone turned their eyes to the source of the magic barrier. A grim faced Loki who looked like he was getting more pissed by the second as he held up the magic shield and protected everyone. While many of the Avengers were stunned, Thor looked at his brother with pride, while Bucky let the corner of his mouth quirk up ever so slightly.

This was the first time that Loki had shielded everyone without being demanded to. Loki himself paid no one any mind, because he did whatever the Hell he wanted damn it.

From where he stood atop the tank, Doom growled in frustration that his plasma cannons could not break through the barrier, but his cold eyes did zero in on the reason why this was so as well. With a snarl, Doom concentrated all three cannons directly on Loki. Seeing that he was now the target, Loki turned to his teammates and roared.

" GET OUT OF THE WAY, ALL OF YOU!"

" Brother wait!" Thor began to say, but Loki gave him a stern look, and when he saw that they weren't moving fast enough, he took matters into his own hands.

With a loud yell in some foreign language, a burst of white energy pulsed of Loki that effectively sent his fellow Avengers flying sideways. Except they weren't knocked off their feel, more like they were all being pulled away from the assumed blast radius. Steve and Thor had just enough time to yell out Loki's name before Doom was firing all of his cannons at Loki. The light was blinding as the combine shot careened towards Loki. But just as it was about to hit him, there was a bright flash of greenish gold light. The others all ducked against the massive shockwave and shielded their eyes against the roaring blast. Thor yelling desperately for his brother while Bucky had to force himself not to do the same. When the light finally faded, there was a giant, smoking crater where Loki had been standing. For one terrible moment, Bucky felt his world collapse. But then he was snarling and pulling out his gun, ready to pump Doom's ugly metal face full of lead. Doom for his part laughed at his supposed triumph while the Avengers are looked frantically for any signs that their reluctant Trickster had not just been blown to kingdom come.

The Avengers, especially an irate Thor and secretly so Bucky all turned their gazes to Doom, ready to unleash hell when the smarmy metal bastard's grating laughter was cut short by a blast of acidic green magic that came from some place to their left, knocking the mad scientist down onto his tank. All eyes turned to see Loki standing in the middle of the undamaged street, without a hair out of place, and a truly annoyed look on his face.

Bucky let out a quiet breath of relief, that did not go unnoticed by Steve, who frown in confusion behind his cowl for a moment before Doom captured his attention once more.

With a roar and a scrambled to his feet, Doom aimed his cannons at Loki again, but this time the other Avengers were having none of it. As one, they all converged on the super villain and his colossal war machine. It was a full on melee with Doom trying to aim at any Avenger he could find, sending plasma shots all over the place. After one of those shots nearly took out Tony, they all collectively agreed that it was time to end this. Thor and Loki teamed up and aimed a blast of lightening and magic at the middle cannon, while Tony and Black widow did the same for the cannon on the right and finally, Steve, Bucky, and Hawkeye all aimed for the cannon on the left, the archer bringing out one of his special incendiary arrow heads. Hulk stood growling and glaring, understanding that he would be the one to finish things up.

Thor and Loki were the first to fire, taking out the middles cannon and leaving it a twisted, sputtering mess of metal and spilling plasma. Then Natasha and Tony were up next, sending repulsor blasts and heavy fire at the next cannon, leaving it a dented and hole-ridden mess. And finally, Steve sent his shield flying first, followed by Bucky showing off his deadly marksman skills and he shot out the wires that were connected to the cannon with metal piercing rounds, watching with grim satisfaction as the cannon's plasma supply bled out. Lastly, Clint finished of the cannon by sending his special arrow flying, straight into the mouth of the cannon. Naturally, a few seconds later the cannon was exploding, almost like a flower of metal and purplish-white plasma.

Before Doom could even let out an irate bellow and cuss out the Avengers, there was a loud, inhuman roar and a large shadow of something big flying through the air. The Avengers all watched, some of them smiling, others a bit wide eyed as Hulk came to the forefront and hurled a slightly crushed SUV at Doom and his cannon. Doom let out a rather shrill cry as he jumped out of the way and clean of his cannon to avoid being turned into a pancake. The SUV slammed into the tank and crushed the top, effectively killing the war machine. But what none of the Avengers realized was that one of the cannons, the one that Tony and Natasha took out, still had plasma running through it, meaning that it could still get off a final shot.

Doom found himself loosely surrounded when the dust finally cleared, the Avengers, even Loki glaring at him. Bucky was only half-listening to Doom spew his vitriol at them because something didn't seem right, and a quick glance at Loki told the Super-assassin that his norse god was picking up on it too. Bucky turned his gaze to the disabled tank just in time to see the remaining plasma cannon sputter with tenuous life. Within the span of a few seconds that seemed more like hours, Bucky realized that the cannon was going to fire one last, dying shot, and it was aimed right Steve, who was busy shouting back at Doom to notice.

Without thinking, Bucky yelled out Steve's name and lunged forward, using his metal arm to push Steve away with as much force as he could muster. Bucky thought he heard someone scream out his given name before everything went white and there was a burning hot pain over his side and back, his human arm a light with it.

The rest of the Avengers, from Steve to the Hulk on the ground, to Tony and Natasha who were still in the air watched in horror as Bucky was hit by the plasma and blow backwards, careening through the air until he slammed into the side of a parked van, slumping onto the ground and not moving. Before a horrified Steve could even get back to his feet, there was a flash of a green cape and everyone was stunned speechless as they saw Loki, a look of pure anguish on his face as he ran past them as fast as his legs could take him towards where Bucky lay.

Loki's entire battle outfit glowed as the mage summoned it away, leaving the Asgardian in his less formal leathers as he slammed onto his knees before Bucky and reached out.

" James!" He yelled as he carefully took Bucky's face into his hands. Loki's green eyes darted frantically over Bucky, assessing the damage.

Thankfully, it appeared that the plasma shot had glanced off of Bucky, otherwise it would have surely vaporized him. But the damage was severe. The right side of Bucky's face was singed and an angry red, his right arm and side were totally scorched with what looked like third degree burns. His breathing was labored, and he was barely conscious as he stared up at Loki with rapidly glazing eyes.

Steve seemed to snap out of his paralysis and yelled as he climbed to his feet and barreled towards where Loki and Bucky were, the others following close behind. As they beheld the frantic scene, everyone was wondering just what the hell was going on, why Loki and Bucky were looking at each other like that, like they cared deeply for each other when just yesterday they had nearly gotten into another brawl with each other, spewing mutual hate.

But all of that had to be put aside as Steve knelt beside Bucky, eying Loki with confusion when the god gently eased Bucky sideways into Captain America's arms. Thor was stunned to see his brother, usually so aloof and collected even after the worst battles, looking so frantic and afraid, his green eyes wide and never leaving Bucky as the injured mortal lay gasping in Steve's arms.

" St-Steve." Bucky gasped, his eyes and burned face alight with searing agony.

" Hey Buddy, try not to talk." Steve said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile before he looked up grimly. He was about to start barking orders when Bucky started coughing violently. Everyone was chilled when they saw the deep, crimson liquid that came pouring out the corner of his mouth.

" James?" Loki said softly and he came forward, looming over Bucky and not giving a damn that Steve and the others were staring.

" L-Loki." Bucky let out a pained gasp as he reached out to the Asgardian with his burned hand, Loki quickly leaning in so that Bucky could press his injured hand over the center of his chest.

Tears began to stream from Bucky's eyes, from both the pain and from the feeling in his gut that he wasn't going to come back from this. Gritting his teeth, Bucky spoke with waning strength.

" L-Loki I... I don't think I'm gonna..." He began when Loki's eyes suddenly hardened into two orbs of jade as he leaned down and got right into Bucky's face.

" Shut up James." Steve was about to rail of Loki for talking to Bucky that way, but he stopped when he saw the way Loki's eyes suddenly lost their hardness and gazed at Bucky with unheard of warmth.

" You're not leaving us." He said, before his face grew grim. " You're not leaving me."

The words left everyone stunned and gawking, Thor nearly dropping Mjolnir as he stared at the scene between his brother and Steve's best friend. Before anyone could even articulate any kind of response to this, and before Steve or Thor could demand answers, a grimly determined looking Loki lashed out and roughly grabbed Bucky by the front of his burned battle gear and yanked him up out of Steve's arms. Steve was about to scream at Loki for daring to pull Bucky so roughly, but his angry words died in his throat as the sight he and the rest of the Avengers now beheld. With both of them on their knees, facing each other with Bucky being more or less held up by the god, Loki had his lips sealed firmly over Bucky's in a deep kiss.

" Is this the twilight zone?" Tony asked, naturally receiving no answer as everyone watched _Loki kissing Bucky. _

Then, like a spark igniting a wild fire, a golden energy seemed to radiate out of Loki and swirl around Bucky's entire being. Bucky's once glazing eyes suddenly flew all the way open, clear and coherent as he gasped against Loki's lips. His entire body was tingling with whatever it was that was radiating from Loki. To his amazement, the agony of his injuries soon started to fade into nothing. Around the pair, everyone was stunned at what they were seeing. The horrifying burns that had just moments ago marred Bucky's body were slowly but surely fading away, leaving only torn fabric and undamaged skin. The burn over the right side of Bucky's seemed to almost recede like the tides of an ocean, fading away into nothing and leaving only a pale, lightly stubble covered cheek and jawline.

" Brother." Thor said, almost reverently, his eyes wide with the realization that Loki was expending massive amount of his seidr in order to heal Steve's best friend, now revealed to be Loki's _lover. _The Hulk just scratched his head for a second and then shrugged to himself.

With the golden seidr still swirling around them, Loki pushed himself onto his feet, pulling Bucky up with him, never breaking the kiss they were sharing.

" This is unreal." Clint said quietly as he watched Bucky be fully healed of his grievous injuries.

When the golden energy finally dissipated, Loki and Bucky broke apart with a gasp. Bucky staring up at Loki with wide, disbelieving eyes. Loki kept his face carefully neutral, and everyone else could only see his profile as he reached up and cupped Bucky's cheek. But before Bucky or anyone else could say anything, there was a flash of green magic and Loki teleported. Everyone was confused as to where the Hell Loki would go all of a sudden when a loud, and pained yell filled the air and had everyone turning in time to get their answer.

Doom let out another loud wail from where he was suspended in the air with tendrils of poison green seidr around his wrists and ankles, Loki standing on the ground below him with his pale fist raised and his back to everyone. Bucky immediately rushed forward, Thor, Steve and the others quickly following. As they neared Loki, they heard him speak.

" I should rend you limb from pathetic limb and them sell your parts for scrap."

Steve was about to plead with Loki not to carry out his threat, but his fears were nulled with Loki's next words.

" But I will not sully my hands or my seidr with you sorry carcass, so this will just have to placate me for the time being."

With that, Loki's raised fist glowed red with magic. Everyone watched on in silent awe as the magical tendrils that bound Doom and suspended him in the air started to spread to his whole body, turning a furious red color in the proceed and radiating molten heat. Doom let out another loud yell of agony, his metal skin burning so hot it felt like his whole body was melting. In actuality, nothing seemed to be happening to Doom's skin, nothing was turning bright orange with heat, or even denting, such was Loki's power. Still without turning, and his long black hair billowing about his head, Loki let out a disgusted snarl before he jerked his raised fist sharply to the right, seemingly yanking on air. The effect was instant for Doom though, as he was hurled sideways. The Super-villain had enough time to let out one last pain-filled yell before he was careening into the side of his own disabled tank with a sickening smash of metal on metal. Doom hit the tank so hard that the metal bended and broke in such a way as to curve around its vanquished maker. The few groans emanating from the demolished tanks were enough to let them all know that despite it all, Doom was alive, if roasted.

Things grew eerily quiet after that, all of the Avengers turning their gazes from the destroyed pile of steaming metal, to the Asgardian prince who had done the destroying. They all stood paralyzed, unsure what to do, how to approach Loki who was still radiating with this dangerous, magic fueled rage. But it was Loki who made the first move for them. Something seemed to shift in the air around the second prince of Asgard. The dangerous rage seemed to be doused by a sudden wave of exhaustion that everyone from those on the ground to Natasha who was still manning the quinjet could somehow feel. Loki himself seemed to slump a bit, his rigid posture fading as he slowly turned around to face the rest of the team. And when he did finally face them, the floor seemed to get pulled out from under all of them.

The scene before them would haunt Bucky's mind for as long as he lived and horror filled him to his very soul. It was with a sickening realization that Loki had indeed healed him, but not without paying the price.

The right side of Loki's usually pale, unmarred face was now a ghastly, reddish purple, burnt mess, as was his right hand from what they could see. It was not the whole thing, but it was enough for all of them, especially Bucky, Thor, and Steve to realize what had happened. Loki had taken Bucky's injuries into himself, and was now suffering them in full force. Loki took in every silently horrified face, but it was like he was in a haze, and everything was so very far away, even the pain.

At least James was safe.

It was the way Loki's usually vibrant green eyes were rapidly glazing and how unsteady his stance was growing that finally seemed to snap everyone out of the paralysis that gripped them. Naturally, it was Thor who moved first. The Thunderer let out an anguished cry as he ran forward as fast as his legs could carry him.

" Brother!"

Thor reached Loki just as his younger brother's knees collapsed from under him. With a distressed yell, Thor caught Loki as gently as he could, his eyes prickling with tears at the harsh cries of pain Loki made at the contact before he eased his raven-haired brother down the rest of the way, gently holding him in his arms, against his armor covered chest.

Loki groaned loudly, writhing in pure agony as wave after wave of searing pain crashed over him. He looked up at Thor with bleary eyes, and he would have had a sharp rebuke for Thor's over-dramatics, but something in the way his brother was look at him gave Loki pause. He must look particularly ghastly if the naked panic and the tears that were glistening in the blond oaf's eyes were anything to go on. Instead Loki swallowed, with great difficultly because it felt like there was a cactus lodged firmly in his throat, Loki spoke.

" I'll... I'll be alright brother... You know... You know t-that I have survived worse."

Loki grimaced at just how hoarse and garbled his voice sounded in his own ears. The world itself started to seem so very far away, his own mind growing dull from the pain, his grip on consciousness growing tenuous as the moments past. Thor looked up in time to see the rest of the Avengers rushing towards them, Bucky at the forefront with Steve right beside him, a look of full-blown terror on his face.

Loki started coughing violently in Thor's arms, and much to the Thunderer's horror, bright crimson liquid bubbled up past Loki's colorless lips. When the fit ended, Loki forced himself to speak.

" Is... Is James alright?" He asked softly, gazing imploringly at his brother. Before Thor could answer, Bucky himself was crashing to his knees on the street beside them, his hands going to Loki's chest, resting reverently over the chest guard Loki was wearing. Thor watched as Loki turned his gaze to Barnes and looked so utterly relieved to see the mortal that it silence any protest he was going to make regarding said mortal touching his injured brother.

" Loki you idiot, what the hell did you do?" Bucky demanded, his eyes bright with anguish as Steve knelt down beside him, gazing between them in both concern and confusion, a million questions on the tip of his tongue.

" As... much as you have b-been enhanced... I am s-still more hardy... than you m-mortal." Loki replied, sending Bucky a small, bloodstained smile.

" God you stupid son of a bitch." Bucky said softly through gritted teeth as he reached up with his non-metal fingers and ran the backs on them over Loki's unburned cheek. Loki leaned into the caress and looked up at Bucky with pained, yet warm eyes. Bucky did his best to keep his jaw from trembling as the gravity of the whole situation dawning on him.

The jig was up, in one fell swoop the fascade was shattered, leaving only the truth. Before Steve or Thor could ask any questions about what they were seeing, Loki's eyes suddenly lost all focus, gazing blankly at some point while his whole body just seemed to suddenly loose all tension to where he was no longer even writhing from the pain as he had been. Loki's breath became erratic gasps as his overtaxed lungs tried to pull in oxygen.

There was a loud roar from behind the four of them, Steve, Thor, and Bucky looking up in time to see the Hulk grow smaller and less green until a barefoot Bruce Banner clad in the stretched and shredded remnants of his pants. Without wasting a moment, Bruce ran forward as fast a he could with all the debris under his feet and knelt down before Thor, silently making Bucky and Steve back off a bit and give him some room.

This was Bruce Banner in full doctor mode, and there was no barrier that could withstand that. He may not have been a medical doctor, but he remembered the basics as he quickly assessed their grievously injured trickster. Bruce frowned before he looked up and met the three expectant pairs of eyes that were zeroed in on him. Bruce's face was grim as he spoke.

" He's gone into shock, we need to get him back to the tower asap cause he's in major trouble!"

Bruce's words seemed to finally snap everyone out of their collective paralysis. Now came the frantic chaos of saving one of their own. Thor hefted his gravely injured sibling over his shoulder and raised Mjolnir above his head, vaulting into the air and flying off towards Avenger's tower as fast as he could. Not a moment after Thor took off with Loki, Tony touched down beside Bruce just long enough to hook his metallic arms under the startled doctor's underarms before taking flight again. Like Thor carried Loki, Tony carried Bruce as the pair of them followed after Thor back to the tower.

Natasha landed the Quinjet and Bucky was taking off, not sparing anyone else a glance as he frantically climbed into the back of the aircraft before the door had even fully come down. Steve and Clint made quick work of getting a battered and unconscious Doom out of the remnants of his tank and into the jet as well, Clint coming to take the co-pilot's eat beside Black Widow while Steve placing an unconscious Doom into the special containment cell of the jet before strapped himself in beside Bucky. Steve pulled back his cowl and silently eyed his best friend while the jet took to the air once more. Bucky's normally pale face was now completely devoid of all color, his hands, both metallic and flesh were clenched tight in his lap, and his lips were held in a thin, grim line. But it was Bucky's eyes that had something in Steve's own heart clenching. While the rest of Bucky appeared calm enough, his eyes gave away how he really was. Bucky's blue eyes were wide and haunted, holding within them a frantic desperation. The kind of desperation one could only feel when someone they loved deeply was in trouble and they needed to get to that person by any means. Bucky was so focused on this, that he didn't even spar a moment to glare at Doom who was slumped over and handcuffed behind the glass plate of what was essentially a giant-sized mail tube

Even though Steve had a million questions he wanted to have answered about what had happened today, the super-soldier didn't voice a single one of these. Instead he reached out and gripped Bucky's shoulder firmly. Steve still stayed silent when Bucky turned to meet his gaze, the two of them staring at each other until finally, Bucky's blue eyes filled with a gut-wrenching pain and also a silent plea for help. Steve fought off the urge to turn away from this look Bucky was giving him and forced himself to speak.

" It's gonna be okay Buck... He's gonna be okay." Steve said softly, a part of him not really believing that he was giving his best friend reassurances that _Loki_ was going to be alright. But after witnessing just what Loki had done, what lengths the seemingly unfeeling and uncaring Asgardian was willing to go to to save _his_ best friend from what had certainly been fatal injuries, Steve quickly banished the feeling. For the remainder of the break-neck ride home, and while they all remained silent, Steve never let go of Bucky's shoulder.

When the jet finally made it to the tower, Bucky was again out the door before it had opened fully, Steve tasking Natasha and Clint with making sure Doom was detained before he scrambled after his best friend. Steve barely made it in time to squeeze through the rapidly closing doors of the elevator before he and Bucky were riding it down to get to the medical wing of the tower. Again, Bucky was the first to shoot out of the elevator when he and Steve reached the medical wing, were several doctors and nurses were on staff, Tony sparing no expense.

" Bucky, let's head to the emergency area." Steve said, deducing that that was probably the best place to start looking. Bucky nodded mutely and followed Steve as they headed for said area.

Thankfully, Steve's gut led him well, for no sooner had they entered the emergency area, they spotted Thor still in his red cape with a de-suited Tony standing beside him, the both of them looking into a room that was separated by a large glass pane.

" Thor, Tony!" Steve called to get their attention as he and Bucky hurried toward them.

Thor and Tony both turned to see Steve and Bucky coming towards them, both of them looking grim as Tony crossed his arms, while Thor zeroed his blue-eyed gaze on Bucky.

Bucky didn't pay this any mind, his own blue eyes going to what happening on the other side of the glass. It made his heart first freeze, and then drop all the way to his feet. On the other side of the glass was an image that would haunt Bucky for as long as he lived.

The room itself was like any other high-tech and brightly lit operating room, but it was who lay in the middle of it that had Bucky's attention.

Loki lay pale and unmoving on a large hospital bed, doctors dressed in white medical scrubs all milling about him. He was unconscious, and there was a wicked looking tube down his was bare from the waist up, a white sheet covering his lower half, and he was laid eagle spread.

It left the full extent of the injuries he had taken from Bucky on vivid and nightmarish display.

It was like the entire right side of Loki's body had been broiled. The doctors were carefully applying some kind of balm over the burns and then carefully wrapping the terrible wounds in bandages, gauze having already been carefully taped over the burns on Loki's face and neck. Bucky looked on for several long moments, watching as the doctors began to carefully wrap Loki's savagely burned right arm.

_" It's supposed to be me in there."_ Bucky thought, his gut giving a painful lurch as he watched the tube that was down Loki's throat force air into him, his pale chest, carrying a light singe along the right side, moved up and down steadily, but mechanically. Fighting back the burning behind his eyes, Bucky forced himself to turn away and face the other three people who were there, noticing that it was in face five people, since Natasha and Clint had joined them and he hadn't noticed. His eyes immediately went to Thor, who stood with his arms crossed over his still armored chest and his entire face pale and grim.

" What did the doctors say Thor?" Bucky asked as he took a step forward.

Thor's eyes hardened for a moment as he stared at Bucky, but he must have seen the barely veiled desperation in Bucky's eyes before he seemed to deflate and uncrossed his arms, the hardness leaving his features to where he just looked completely heartbroken as he spoke.

" The healers said that they would do all that was in their power to treat my brother's injuries, but that these were severe burns he has taken into himself. The damage from the substance they called plasma was severe. Loki's breath became so shallow by the time I reached the tower, they shoved that tube down his throat. At first I was wondering why Loki did not simply use his magic to heal himself like he always did, but I realized that perhaps he overtaxed his seidr when he healed you and then dealt with Doom all in one fell swoop."

At this last part, Bucky, as well as Steve and the others were all glad to see that Thor's tone had not turned accusatory towards his brother's newly revealed lover, instead Thor was eyeing him with guarded curiosity. It made Bucky feel the urge to squirm anyway. He quashed it down though and bowed his head.

" This is all my fault." Bucky said softly as he turned away.

Steve was instantly as his side, gripping his shoulder tightly as he spoke.

" Don't do that Bucky, don't go blaming yourself. You saved me from that last blast from Doom's cannon, and then Loki saved you from the burns you took. Even though I am at a complete loss here about what the hell's going on, it's obvious Loki cares about you a lot if he was willing to risk his own life to heal you."

Bucky looked up to meet Steve's concerned gaze as he spoke, his voice quiet and crumbling.

" H-He loves me Steve and... and I love him."

There was a shocked silence at these softly spoken words, everyone in some way or another gaping at Bucky and what he had just revealed. It was Natasha, every quick to recover her composure who shook off the shock first.

" Alright Barnes, you have got some explaining to do." She said, taking charge. Bucky nodded mutely to Natasha before his eyes went from Steve to Thor and back as Steve spoke.

" Hey guys, think it'd be a good idea if we all went upstairs and freshened up a bit and then came back down here." He said, eying Bucky's torn and burnt battle suit.

Everyone all agreed that they would all change out of their battle gear and them come back down here, Tony pointing out that there was a conference room down the hall from the emergency operating room that had put in a few months back. Everyone left, and then came back later dressed in regular clothing.

Silently, but with a tension starting to crackle among them, the Avengers all started to proceed down this hallway, but Bucky paused a moment to take one last look at Loki as the doctors started wrapping the burns on his chest, everyone else doing the same when they noticed Bucky do this. Bucky forced himself away, and with Steve's reassuring yet also quietly tense presence beside him, Bucky followed the rest of the group as Tony led them to the private waiting area.

A few minute later had Bucky sitting both literally and figuratively in the hot seat at the head of the conference table with Steve and Thor flanking him on either side, with Tony and a tired looking Bruce sitting on Thor's side, while Natasha and a mutely grim looking Clint sat on the same side as Steve.

" Start taking Barnes, cause I really would like to know why you're suddenly all lovey dovey with our resident psycho." Clint said flatly, earning some unamused looks from both Steve and Thor, while Tony just smirked. Understanding that Clint and the others all wanted answers as much as he himself wanted them, Steve spoke.

" Bucky, just what is going on here?" He asked.

" Indeed, from my understanding, you and my brother seemed to dislike each other quite intensely almost immediately after you met all those moons ago." Thor said as he too looked intensely at Bucky.

Bucky forced himself to look up and meet the many gazes that were leveled on him. Taking a deep breath, he spoke, addressing Steve first.

" What's going on here, is that me and Loki have been together since about two months after you brought me here from Washington Steve." Bucky then turned his attention to Thor, ignoring the way Steve and the others were all gaping at him in their own ways, when Thor cut him off.

" My brother must have influenced you with his magic somehow." Bucky resisted the urge to roll his eyes, Loki having warned him that this would happen, that Thor and the others would immediately assume that there had been some magical manipulation on Loki's part. With a sigh, Bucky shook his head and reached for his metal arm. Bucky pushed back one of the metal plated just under the bicep and pulled something out from underneath. It was a delicate looking chain of what appeared to be braided silver, the end still attached to the inside of Bucky's arm, with a small ice-drop shaped crystal hanging from the end of it that seemed to be glowing with an otherworldly green light.

Thor's sharp intake of breath, and the way his entire face grew even more shocked had the other Avengers all looking questioningly at Bucky.

" Thor, what is it?" Clint asked as he eyed the crystal warily.

" That is a warding crystal, used by the highest order of Mages in Asgard to keep away any seidr that means to subjugate the will of whoever it is aimed at." Thor said, before his face turned into a disbelieving frown at Bucky.

" Loki gave that to you willingly?" Bucky nodded before he tucked the crystal back under the panel of his metal arm.

" He gave it to me the second time we were intimate. I never once thought Loki would try anything with me but given both our histories, me with basically not having my own mind for decades, and he with having taken over minds during the invasion he led, I guess he didn't want to take any chances. " Then with a sigh, Bucky sat back in his seat and shook his head before he looked back up with a sad sort of half smile that made Steve's heart ache, while the others lost some of the hardness in their eyes for some reason.

" I didn't hate Loki at first sight, honestly I... I thought he was one of the most gorgeous things I'd ever seen in a really long time. And now I'm allowed to remember that I'd seen him." Bucky said with a nostalgic little quirk of his lips before he grew serious again.

" And before any of you jump to the conclusion that Loki must have taken advantage of me or seduced me somehow, you should know that Loki didn't do anything. Sure I'd notice that his eyes lingered on me sometimes when we were in the same room when I was settling in, but he never came near me, never approached me to even say "hello". And I was the same, I'd look at him from far away and never try to make contact. Finally I just couldn't keep doing that, so I made the first move." Bucky revealed.

There was a stunned silence over the room at this, even Natasha's eyes growing a bit wider that normal. It was she who asked what everyone else was thinking.

" What move did you make?" Bucky bit back a fond smile and kept his face stoic as he replied.

" I climbed up the tower and snuck into his room one night."

" You did what now?" Tony said, sitting up and staring incredulously at Bucky.

Steve watched, stunned as Bucky met Tony's gaze with a bright, amused glint in his blue eyes and the ghost of a smile on his lips. It was like the Bucky Barnes he had always known and grown up with was suddenly sitting in front of him, the man he was before the war, before Hydra, before everything. Steve forced himself not to jump up and hug Bucky right then and there, and instead look a look around the table in time to see the everyone else was also staring at Bucky, no doubt having never seen this side of the usually very reserved and silent ex-assassin. The new-found brightness in Bucky's eyes dimmed for a moment before he shook it off.

" I've been trained to get to my target by any and all means necessary, scaling a building like this one isn't hard when you know where to grip it, and besides that, I didn't climb all the way up from my room, it was late that night so I took the elevator up to maybe three or four floors down from the floor he and Thor share and climbed up."

" Why the hell didn't JARVIS raise the alert?" Clint asked.

" Because I asked him not to." Bucky replied.

Tony's mind was reeling at this, and he was instantly looking up at the ceiling with hard eyes.

" JARVIS you got some explaining to do." A few moments later a familiar British accented voice of the A.I. sounded.

" Sir, your orders were that all the Avengers who live in this building were to be afforded their privacy. When Mr. Odinson was brought back to this building by his brother, you did not allow him this privacy and ordered that he remain under round the clock surveillance and I have been doing as you have ordered thus far. On the other hand, you did not order that I keep Mr. Barnes under such constant watch. On the night in question, Mr. Barnes entered Mr. Odinson's bedroom via a window and asked that all video surveillance be halted for the duration of his say in Mr. Odinson's room. I complied with Mr. Barnes' wishes as the rules you set into place dictated Mr. Stark."

" Thank you JARVIS." Bucky said quietly as he sent a grateful look up at the ceiling, seeing as to how JARVIS was like that voice from up above and everywhere.

" Happy to be of service Mr. Barnes." Came the simple reply.

" Unbelievable." Clint sigh in exasperation while Tony smirked up at the ceiling.

" So you found a loop-hole." Bruce said with a small smile, Bucky nodded wordlessly.

" What transpired between you and my brother?" Thor asked, the air around him literally growing charged as he gazed at Bucky with the hard eyes of an over-protective brother. Bucky met Thor's gaze without flinching, not intimidated at all. Without looking away, Bucky began to recount what happened after he had snuck into Loki's room.

_Several months earlier, on the night in question..._

Bucky carefully pulled the glass pane of the window shut, sending a silent thank you to JARVIS for opening it for him when he had given it a light tap from outside. Now he found himself in Loki's bedroom, feeling equal parts excited and nervous after he had whispered for JARVIS to cut all surveillance on the room. He had just snuck into the room of a man that had tried to subjugate Earth itself, and always gave off an air of warning not to get too close, or there would be unpleasantness. Said man was no where to be found in the at the moment, but the light coming from under the door located at one corner, along with the noise of water running from behind it was enough for Bucky to deduce where Loki was.

Feeling his heart-rate speed up with anticipation, Bucky took in the room, noting how it was much like his own room, filled with the generic furniture Stark had placed in all of the other room, with hardly any personal touches save for a few sparse details like the deep, forrest green comforter over the bed, the small stack of old-looking leather-bound books on the nightstand where a generic lamp was on, but only dimly lighting up the room, and more books neatly lined up along the upper edge of the desk by the wall beside the windows.

Eying the single couch chair in the darkened corner of the room that was right by the door to the bathroom that was currently occupied, Bucky made his way over to it and sat down. Shrouded in the shadows, Bucky sat back and waited, keeping an ear on the still closed bathroom door.

The minutes kept ticking by, but Bucky simply sat still as a statue and waited. Sure enough, the sounds of water running ceased and there was shuffling and shadows moving around the sliver of light coming from under the door before it too went out. Bucky leaned back further into the shadows as he heard the bathroom door open, staying absolutely silent while he watched out the corner of his eye. A few moments later, Bucky had to clench his jaw to keep from gasping out loud as Loki, the would be conqueror of Earth stepped out of the bathroom, clad in nothing but a think gray towel around his narrow waist. The freshly showered god was using another towel to dry his long black locks as he walked across the room to the foot of his bed, not noticing that he had an unexpected visitor.

From where he sat, Bucky was mesmerized by the sight before him. In the dimly lit room, Loki's pale skin seemed to almost glow. Bucky wracked his eyes down the flawless expanse of Loki's bare back, taking in the water droplets that lingered over his shoulder and dripped from his still damp hair. Bucky could have sat there and stared at Loki for the rest of the night, taking in that strong and lithe body in such a state of undress, but his ogling would be cut short. Bucky nearly jumped when Loki spoke without turning around, now casually drying his shoulders.

" Is there a reason why you've come into my bed-chambers without any sort of invite mortal?"

Seeing that there was no point in hiding, Buck steeled his nerves and stood up from his seat, stepping into the light. Dressed in a baggy black hoodie zipped up over a simple gray t-shirt and equally baggy sweats, and his special scaling boots that had helped make the climb up possible, Bucky still found himself being the one who felt over-exposed in the presence of the barely covered Asgardian, who at this point had not even turned around to face him. Not really knowing what to say now that he was on the spot, but knowing that if he said something wrong he was most likely going to get himself fried, Bucky decided to answer Loki's question first.

" I just... I wanted to see you." He began to say when Loki cut him off, still with his back to Bucky and still non-chalantly drying himself.

" You have seen me several times today, at all of the communal meals that are so vehemently insisted upon here. Have you not had your fill?" To this, Bucky felt the first stirrings of heat rise within him, his eyes taking in the way the muscles of Loki's surprisingly powerful looking back coiled and shifted under his pale skin. While Loki was giving off the air of aloofness, Bucky could see that his body had a telling tension about it as he spoke.

" No." That single word made Loki stop wiping at his arm, yet he still did not turn around. Bucky was rapidly getting tired of this, he had risked his life to climb up to this room, the least the person he had worked so hard to visit could do was face him.

" Turn around and look at me Loki." He demanded, his voice holding no room for anything but full compliance as he stepped forward.

" Your mind must be well and truly fucked indeed if you think you can order me around mortal." Loki said, a promise of pain in his voice, and yet he still did not turn to face Bucky. At this point, Bucky had had enough. Without really thinking things through, Bucky strode forward the rest of the way, grabbing Loki by the upper arm and pulling him around.

" Look at me damn it!" Bucky growled, getting right into Loki's face despite the moderate height difference between himself.

He had enough time to see Loki's poison green eyes turn murderous before they flashed with energy. The next thing he knew, Bucky was letting out a started yelp as he was flying backwards, viciously yanked clear off his feet by some unseen force. Bucky let out a small grunt as his back made contact with the wall, and yet it was not with as much force as he had expected. His arms and legs were pressed firmly into the wall by Loki's magic, and yet he hadn't had the wind slammed out of him as one would expect from Loki. But Bucky didn't have time to think about the fact that he hadn't been sent clean through the wall because Loki was suddenly right in his face, seething.

" I'll crush you bones to dust for thinking you could ever dare touch me." Loki growled before he leaned in closer, his breath hot over Bucky's face. " Insignificant little slug." To Loki's silent astonishment, Bucky met his fiery gaze unflinchingly, a fire burning bright within their blue depths as the human spoke.

" My name is James, and if you were going to crush me then you would have done it already, you would have sent me straight through this wall or clear out the window without a second thought, so why haven't you?" Bucky glared at Loki defiantly, having thrown down the challenge, his metal arm whirring and clicking in protest to the restraint. Loki blinked and jerked back a fraction, shock crossing his face before he caught himself. Bucky didn't give him a chance to make some sharp-tongued comeback. Straining against the invisible restraints that were holding him a few feet above the floor, Bucky spoke again.

" Answer me. Why haven't you?" Loki just continued to glare daggers at him, but as he looked into those captivating green eyes, he could see that swirling under the anger and the arrogance there was something deeper, something that spoke of eons worth of unimaginable pain. It was something Bucky instantly recognize because this was something he often saw staring back at him whenever he stood before a mirror. But before Bucky could say anything, Loki seemed to notice the way he was staring at him, the recognition must have shown on Bucky's face because the invisible restraints were suddenly vanishing. Bucky landed on his feet with a small thud and looked up in time to see the pained look that flashed in Loki's eyes before they hardened back into their glare.

" I don't answer to you mortal, now leave, go seek out someone else to fulfill your apparent death wish." Loki turned away in clear dismissal.

Bucky stood silent as he watched Loki pad across the floor back to the foot of his bed. Gritting his teeth together, Bucky pulled the hood of his hoodie up over his head and moved, except he didn't walk towards the window, instead he reached for the hem of his hoodie and pulled it off completely. The t-shirt he was wearing under it soon followed. Bucky paused to pull off the ankle length boots he had on before he walked forward fast across the room to get to Loki.

The sound of things softly hitting the floor caused Loki to drop the discarded towel he had just picked up, He was about to turn around and see what his unwanted guest was up to, but instead he felt all the breath leave his lungs as arms, one warm and made of flesh and bone, the other of hard yet surprisingly warm metal wrapped around him. The metal arm went around his waist while the natural arm went up diagonally over his bare chest, till the palm was resting right over his heart. Loki was too stunned to put up any resistance as he was gently, but firmly pulled backwards until his bare back was flush against a warm and solid chest.

In a split second Loki's entire body was tensing and also getting ready to unleash fiery hell on Bucky for having the audacity to touch him again, but Loki's heart stopped cold inside his chest when he felt a pair of lips press a kiss between his shoulder blades. Bucky let his lips linger over the smooth skin before he drew back, but only so that he could press his forehead firmly to the spot he had just kissed. Letting out a shaky breath to reign in the many emotions that were going through him, Bucky spoke. The words that came out of Bucky's mouth had Loki's very soul lurching in bright agony.

" I didn't come here because I have a death wish Loki, I came here because I'm lonely, and I know you are too."

Loki was speechless for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

" What in all the nine realms makes you think I care for such sentiment mortal? In case you somehow failed to notice, everyone in this tower loathes me for I have done many unforgivable things, yet you do not see me loosing any sleep over it. I care not for what anyone thinks of me."

" You're amazing at hiding it, at being nonchalant, but I know full well it hurts you that the only time anyone ever talks to you is when they're reaming you out or insulting you. That while they're a team, you're on the outside looking in. " Bucky said, before he minutely tightened his hold around Loki, taking a moment to revel in the feel of the Asgardian's skin against his own before he sent a thrill through his whole body that Loki hadn't shoved him away as of yet, but Bucky wasn't

" I know, because it's the same with me. I may not get screamed at like you but other than Steve, no one wants to spend time with me other than to get all the information about Hydra they can out of me, or study my arm while Stark keeps making these jokes that really aren't funny. Even Steve, sometimes all he does is try to get me to remember that we were best friends a lifetime ago. He's so desperate to get Bucky back that he doesn't want to see that all that's left is the broken pieces of the Winter Soldier sitting across from him. I can't ever be who was before I was turned into the killer I am now."

Bucky felt Loki grow tenser in his arms, taking in an almost inaudible intake of breath, the mortal man's words unexpectedly resonating with him because what he had just revealed about himself and the Captain was the exact same state his relationship with Thor was currently in. Even though Thor was clearing angry with him over the Chitauri invasion, Loki could still see the barest glimmer of hope in Thor's eyes that they would be brothers again. If Loki were honest with himself, there was a part of him, very small mind you, that yearned desperately to be by Thor's side as his brother again. But like James had just said, the Loki that Thor knew was long gone, lost to a void of despair and cold, black space. All that was left was what stood here now in the arms of a rather brave mortal, the Trickster, the cold-blooded killer, the defeated would be subjugator of Midgard now ordered to make amends. But then a thought suddenly struck Loki, a thought that made him deflate instantly as he spoke.

" Your actions were not your own, contrary to popular belief I was listening when we were all debriefed about your situation before you were brought to the tower. You cannot be held accountable for being nothing more than a pawn for Hydra. Redemption is something that is possible for you, but not I. There is no going back for me, I have become a true monster."

Loki felt Bucky sigh against his skin, then there was the sensation of light stubble against his shoulder blade amidst his now lightly damp black hair. With a small thrill, and resisting the urge to shiver because it was a very nice sensation, Loki realized that Bucky was rubbing his cheek against his skin. Bucky kept his cheek pressed to Loki's shoulder as he spoke.

" I don't think that, I wouldn't have climbed up the tower to get in here if I thought you were nothing but a monster." Then with a sigh he added.

" Now will you please just turn around and look at me?"

There was an incredibly long feeling moment of tense silence and then, Bucky was drawing back and reluctantly releasing his hold around Loki as the latter finally turned around to face him. Loki stared down at Bucky with an unreadable look on his face, his green eyes no longer bright with anger, but guarded. Bucky carefully reached up with his metal hand. It warmed Bucky when Loki didn't flinch away from the metallic touch as he gently cupped the Asgardian's cheek. Running his metal thumb over the graceful arch of Loki's cheekbone, Bucky finally spoke.

" You made me feel like an actual person again just by looking at me. You see me as I am now, you aren't chasing any ghosts, or seeing nothing but the freak with the metal arm. I feel like I'm just James whenever I catch you looking at me, just James."

Loki, who had been resisting the urge to revel in the first kind touch he had had in month, felt his eyes widen at these words because out of everything he was expecting to hear regarding just why this crazy mortal had come into his room, this was by far the last thing he had ever thought he'd hear. Loki was so unbalanced by what Bucky had said that it took him a moment to notice when Bucky's metal hand moved away from his cheek to gently hold the side of his neck, much like Thor used to do. Loki resisted for a second when Bucky gently started to pull his head downward, by then Loki could only part his lips as Bucky gently sealed his own over them. At first Loki just stood there, letting the sensation of being kissed after so long wash over him. Bucky himself felt like his entire body was on fire the moment his lips finally touched Loki's. He had often dreamed of this moment, in the brief respites between the awful, disjointed nightmares that had plagued him in the two months he had been at Avenger's Tower. The real thing was by far more heavenly. Bucky felt his heart surge with triumph when Loki started to tentatively kiss him back. When the need for air was to much to ignore, Bucky pulled away, but stayed closed as he spoke.

" You wanna know what I see when I look at you?" Loki gave a slow wordless nod, for once at a loss for what to say. He watched as a sad smile spread across Bucky's face. It was the first and only time he had ever seen the mortal since he had come to the tower.

" I can see that you are dangerous, that you're capable of a lot. But what I choose to see is that you're on your second chance, just like I am. That even though you put up the front of not caring and being cold, you do care and you do feel and above all you are trying."

Loki blinked slowly and his nostrils flared, his entire face growing hard, but his vivid green eyes giving away that Bucky's words had struck a cord. Bucky's smile remained sad, but also grew hopeful as he gazed at Loki.

" I'm trying too and like I said, I'm lonely even though I'm surrounded by a lot of people. You understand how I feel because you were the bad guy too before, and like you, I am trying. Can we try together?"

Loki remained staunchly silent, but Bucky could see the war that was going on behind those deep green eyes. Squeezing the hand he had cupping Loki's neck, Bucky waited until Loki turned his conflicted eyes back onto him.

" Can we Loki?" Loki just continued to look at him for several long moments before finally, finally something seemed to shift in the charged air between them, and Loki's eyes seemed to clear of their war, filling with pure desire that was aimed completely at Bucky. Still without making a sound, Loki reached out and finally touched Bucky, his long and pale fingers gently carding through the mortals long dark brown locks before he splayed his palm over the back on Bucky's head and pulled him forward closing the few inches that had remained between them.

Things quickly devolved after that, the towel that had been wrapped around Loki's waist falling forgotten to the floor, Bucky's black sweat pants soon following after as the bed dipped with the weight of two bodies. Flesh was touched, barriers were broken, and bodies were joined. That night marked the true start of Bucky and Loki's relationship.

" That was the first time we were together. We've been with each other ever since." Bucky said as he leaned back in the conference chair.

His words were met with silence. Bucky took in the looks on each of his teammates faces in the wake of his revelations. Steve looked completely heart broken, Thor looking just as doleful, but with the barest hint of gratitude in his bright blue eyes. Natasha looked as neutral as ever, Clint looked a bit disturbed but otherwise alright. Bruce was looking guilty, while Tony was smirking which was nothing new, except there was a dimness in his eyes that usually wasn't there. It was Tony who broke the silence.

" So you and Reindeer Games have been twisting the sheets for like six months now?" He asked with an incredulous look on his face. Before Bucky could reply, a sour-faced Clint spoke up.

" What's it like spreading your legs for that psycho?" The Archer sneered hatefully. Steve and Thor were both about to shoot to their feet to give Clint Hell for being so crass, but Bucky's next words had everyone stopping cold.

" Who says I'm the one on the bottom?"

Thor and Steve both turned sharply to gawk at Bucky while Clint sputtered in shock, the three of them gobsmacked, clearly not having expected the former assassin's rather revealing retort. Natasha looked as neutral as ever, but the corner of her lips did quirk for split second. Bruce just turned beat red and ducked his head to hide his smile, while Tony threw his head back and laughed out loud. Then with a growl and with his hammer in hand, Thor stepped forward glaring at Bucky.

" You dare defile my brother you cur!" Steve stepped forward, ready to defend Bucky from Thor in over-protective brother mode but he and the others were stunned when Bucky didn't so much as bat an eye at Thor, calmly gazing at Thor from where he was sitting with an almost serene look on his face. With a sigh, Bucky unhurriedly rose to his feet and walked right up to Thor so that there was maybe little more than an arm's length between them. Even though Bucky was five foot eleven inches, Thor still towered over him at six foot four. Bucky still met Thor's hard blue eyes and spoke, the metal plates of his bionic arm flaring as he clenched his fist.

" You can't defile the willing, and if you ever say something that horrible again, Asgardian or not, I'll forget that you're his brother and my teammate, and bash your face in so help me God."

Thor's eyes widened and he jerked back a bit in shock at both Bucky's words and the seriousness with which he had said them. Around the table everyone else was stunned to see Bucky face off so fearlessly against the Thunderer. Even Clint found himself feeling begrudging respect for the former assassin's backbone. Thor was ready to unleash hell on this impudent mortal for threatening him, when said mortal closed the distance between them and got right up in his face, glaring harshly as he uttered a single word, a name.

" Sigyn."

The other Avengers were stunned when Thor seemed to freeze solid where he stood, the color draining completely out of his face, his mouth falling open and his eyes growing wide as he gawked at Bucky like he had never seen the mortal before, all righteous anger seemingly evaporated. Bucky's glare did not let up as he spoke.

" Like I said, what me and Loki have isn't just sex. We know each other, the people we are behind the masks we show the world. I don't yell at him or curse him out, I talk to him, and he talks to me. He told me about Sigyn and him, and what you did. The only thing I have left to say to you is that you are the last person to cast any kind of judgment on me Thor, so shut up and stand aside."

Steve felt pride wash over him despite his shock at seeing Bucky stand up for himself. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around this entire situation and all that had been revealed, but seeing Bucky with so much fire in his gaze and not backing down while he was facing off against an actual norse god made him really not care so much about all that.

He and the others all watched the silent impasse between Thor and Bucky continue for several agonizingly long moments until finally, Thor averted his gaze and stepped aside. There was no look of satisfaction of Bucky's face, in fact, all he did was stop glaring and instead look incredibly sad as he walked past Thor and started making his way to the door of the conference room.

" Bucky wait!" Steve called as he trotted around the conference table and met Bucky at the threshold. Bucky sent Steve a warning look, to which the Captain held up his hands in a placating gesture.

" Bucky it's alright, I'm not gonna stop you. I know you're going to Loki and it's alright. I just need you to know that you and I are gonna have to talk later okay?" Bucky relaxed and nodded.

" Okay Steve." Bucky said softly, the hardness in his features morphing into such a tired and silently worried look that it made something in Steve ache. Before Steve could reach out to his best friend, Bucky was out the door and gone.

He left a conference room full of people still wanting answers. Steve tiredly padded back across the room and sank down wearily in the seat he had been occupying. The entire room was silent as everyone but Thor turned their eyes to Steve. Steve rubbed tiredly at his face before he let out a deep, cleansing breath and looked up, his eyes going around the room as his face grew serious.

" We are all going to give Bucky and Loki some space right now, I don't know how the hell this all happened, but it did. Somehow my best friend and Thor's little brother ended up in a relationship that as far as I can tell is actually based on love. Loki saved all of our asses today, he shielded us from the blast from Doom's cannons, and then he risked his own life to save Bucky from those burns. We'll have plenty of time to grill Loki when he wakes up, but right now there's something I wanna ask you Thor." Steve said as he turned stern eyes to the very haunted and penitent looking Asgardian sitting across from him. All other eyes went to Thor as well as Steve waited for Thor to finally look up and meet his firm gaze with his pained blue eyes. Feeling a cold dread start to pool in the pit of his stomach, Steve spoke.

" What did Bucky mean by what he just said? Who is Sigyn and what exactly did you do?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Marvel Universe or Disney, The Amazing Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, or anyone else involved with the movies or comics are the ones who do. I am not making any profits from this writing, it is all for the purposes of fun and creative writing.

Author's note: Sorry if anything seems OOC, just wrote what was in my head because I like this pairing. A part of this Chapter is based off of a prompt I saw on Norsekink meme.

Chapter 2

" As you know, I was banished to Midgard without my powers by the Allfather because of my own arrogance and stupidity. I learned much humility in that time. But before my reformation, I was not the best of people. Besides being arrogant and brash, I was often also very, very cruel." Thor said, leaning back in his seat and smiling without humor. He took a look around the room before he continued.

" While there were many who suffered from my cruelty, it was always Loki who bore the full brunt of it. You should all know that in the beginning, it was not Loki who was the Trickster, but I. When we were young, Loki was a kind and gentle soul, he loved his books and learning magic. He would always find joy in simple things like watching a new born colt take its first wobbling steps in the stables or watching mother in her weaving. But he was also shy, almost painfully so."

Tony was about to snort and roll his eyes at the sheer ludicrousness of what had just come out of Thor's mouth, but one look at the heartbreak and regret on the Thunderer's face silenced any sharp, disbelieving quip he was about to make. A quick glance around the room told Tony that the others were all just as disbelieving as he was, but they too were silent as they listened on. Thor let out a pained sigh, memories of Loki as he was before assaulting his mind without mercy as he spoke.

" Even when he and I had just entered manhood, Loki was still shy and sensitive. Sure he was approachable and would always lend aid when asked, but he didn't have many friends. It was just me, I was his best friend, his only friend. This was before I met Hogun, so it was Volstaag, Fandral, and the Lady Sif who were always by my side but they never truly accepted Loki into the fold, they tolerated him mainly because he was my brother, and a prince of Asgard. They thought him a weakling and always made fun of his love of seidr, and I in my stupidity would often join in or even start the teasing because seidr was considered a woman's art." Leaning forward, Thor shook his head sadly in regret as he continued.

" Then one day, I happened to find my brother standing at a balcony looking at something in the courtyard below. The look on his face was the kind one only gets when they have seen something that is absolutely beautiful. He was so enraptured that he hadn;t even noticed I was there, even when he walked away. In my curiosity I went to the balcony, hoping to catch a glimpse of what could make my brother look as he did." A sad smile spread across Thor's face as he remembered.

" Down below in the gardens, there was this young maiden with long strawberry-blonde hair twirling amidst the grass, chasing butterflies and laughing sweetly. I knew her, she was the daughter of one of the captains of the palace guard. Her name was Sigyn."

Steve felt the cold dread from before slowly start to widen in his gut. A quick glance around the room told him that the others were all thinking the same thing, that they were all going to hear a very awful story based on the way Thor was fighting back tears at this point. The Thunderer composed himself and continued.

" It didn't take me long to realize that my brother was interested in Sigyn, she was the first maiden my brother ever showed any romantic interest towards. Instead of being happy for my brother, all I saw was an opportunity for some fun." Thor paused a moment, his self-disgust evident.

" I went to my friends and told them of my discovery. They all laughed with me as we mocked Loki without him even being there. It was in their midst that I was suddenly struck by a _brilliant_ idea. I told my friends of what I had in mind and then I sought out Sigyn the next day and brought her into the conspiracy." Thor paused here again, sorrow overwhelming him as he remembered. Seeing that his friend needed a push, Steve spoke.

" What did you do Thor?" Thor shook his head and answered.

" I asked Sigyn to feign interest in my brother, to make him believe that she felt something for him like he felt for her. She was to always meet him in some spot where myself and my friends could watch Loki in his first romantic endeavor and afterwards Sigyn would meet up with us and tell us in full detail what sort of things Loki would say or do to win her affections. In exchange for all of this, I would give Sigyn a jeweled comb from Vanaheim if she could keep up the ruse. Sigyn was this young and pretty little thing, barely into her teenage years. She readily agreed, not knowing just what it was she agreed to do and I preyed on her innocence." Then with a sigh, Thor leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table in front of his.

" Sigyn did her part well. She sought Loki out, started spending time with him, feigned interest in him and his abilities in seidr while we all watched from afar and snickered. All I ever saw was my own brilliance in making Loki look like a fool, never once did I notice how truly happy my brother was at having Sigyn by his side. Sigyn herself seemed to almost revel in the attention Loki showered upon her, he would show her the latest spell he'd learn, bring her flowers and other such gifts, even cater to her whims. He even broke into Lady Idunn's orchard once to get her one the best golden apples. Had he been caught he would have been punished severely, but I never once thought about that. My friends and I were even there when Loki kissed her for the first time, quietly mocking and laughing at his inexperience. It was like a game for us, and for Sigyn too because without fail she would seek us out after she had been with Loki and laugh along with us. This ruse went on for nearly two moons, all of us enjoying demeaning Loki too much to realize the damage we were causing."

At this point, everyone, from Steve to Bruce were gazing at Thor with hard eyes, even Clint had a look of veiled disgust on his face. It was an uncharacteristically stone-faced Tony who spoke.

" I take it your luck finally ran out and you and your cronies all got caught?" He asked knowingly as he crossed his arms, beside him Bruce was doing his best to keep calm and not let his counter-part make an appearance. They both had a deep hatred for bullies, and from the hardness that had filled Steve's eyes, so did he.

Thor nodded mutely before he let out another deep breath and began to speak, recounting that say in Asgard, that awful day...

" Tell us Sigyn, tell us what pathetic attempts he made today." Sif demanded, nearly bouncing with anticipation for Sigyn's report. Beside her Volstaag munched on a tart while and nodded enthusiastically while Fandral stroked at his fledgling goatee. Thor stood behind Sigyn with his arms crossed and a fond smile on his face. This was by far one of his best pranks on his brother he ever pulled. He and his fellows all listened intently, chuckling when Sigyn recounted how today Loki talked her ear off about how he hoped to show everyone how amazing his magic was, how one day he would dazzle everyone by conjuring a dragon in the great hall before the Allfather and finally get praise for his skills.

Thor had just thrown his head back and laughed heartily when a sharp intake of breath caught his ear. He and everyone else turned and he froze when he saw the pale, thin, raven-haired individual who was standing a few feet away with his green eyes impossibly wide, a look of utter shock on his face. Thor was quick to recover, not really realizing the true severity of the situation, Thor strode forward with his arms raised and a grin on his face, behind him Volstaag, Sif, and Fandral started laughing heartily. Sigyn chuckled quietly, but there was an uneasiness on her face as she eyed Loki.

" Brother, how did you like my prank?" Thor declared.

What happened next happened so fast, the other people in the area were all flabbergasted as an unearthly cry of pure rage sounded and then Thor was flying backwards and slamming into one of the heavy stone pillars of the open hallway they had all gathered in. Sif and the other two Asgardian rushed to Thor's side to see if he was alright and they all reeled when they say the state of his face. Thor let out a small, pained groan as he sat up. His entire face was aflame with agony, and with good reason, for the left side of his jaw was cracked, and there was a wicked looking burn over his left cheek that still sparked with green magic. Sif whirled around, ready to start screaming at Loki for what he had done, but she stopped dead, and so did Volstaag and Fandral when their eyes actually landed on Loki.

A furious wind suddenly picked up, swirling around everything and everyone with the force of a hurricane. It was enough to make even the rotund Volstaag wobble and grab at a nearby railing. But all eyes were focused on Loki's face.

In all the time they had known the second Prince and tolerated his presence, never had they seen him look so utterly and truly enraged and heartbroken. While his eyes were two hard chips of icy jade, tears were gushing out of them in rivers down his face. All about him his seidr swirled like a thousand venomous serpents, flaring and lashing out. A terrified cry off to the side had Loki turning his boiling green eyes to the source of it, as did the others. Thor felt terror course through and he tried to get up when he saw that Loki had turned his attention to Sigyn who was cowering pitifully by the railing a few feet away, crying and whimpering with her light blue dress whirling about in the furious wind.

" It was all a lie, a game to you." Loki growled as he took a few menacing steps towards Sigyn. Sigyn gasped and ducked her head as she cried.

"I-I'm s-sorry, I'm so sorry Loki I-"

" SHUT UP!" Loki screamed, seemingly with all the force of his body. Sigyn wailed as she ducked her head further, tears coursing down her face as she started hyperventilating. Taking in a deep, rattling breath, Loki started to speak, his voice deathly calm. It would have been better had he still been screaming.

" You meant something to me Sigyn. I thought there was finally somebody in this realm who liked me for who I am, not because Thor is my brother. I told you things, some of them my deepest secrets. I wanted to give you the world, not just my heart. You were more than just the maiden I wished to woo, I thought you were my friend, the one true friend I could call my own. Today I followed you after our meeting, because I had forgotten to ask if you would come explore the cave of crystals we discovered near the woods. I find you here in the company of that blond oaf and his trio of crows, laughing at me, laughing at how I feel about you and everything I have done to get you to like me. "

" B-Bro...tha" Thor called, his voice garbled by his injuries as he tried to climb onto wobbly feet.

Loki turned his tearful eyes to Thor, sending his older brother a truly heartbroken/murderous look that instantly silenced Thor and rooted him where he stood. Loki then turned back to Sigyn and spoke.

" Look at me!" He ordered harshly. With a terrified yelp and trembling violently, Sigyn forced her head up to meet Loki's irate gaze. Loki's eyes grew frigidly cold as he stared down at the cowering maiden at his feet.

" When first I saw you, I thought you were one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever had the privilege of laying eyes on. I may have been a prince of Asgard, but I wanted nothing more than to be worthy of a lady such as you Sigyn. You had the heart of a prince in you possesion, yet now it is revealed to me that it never had any value to you. Tell me, what did Thor offer you?"

Sigyn sputtered and whimpered, having difficulty speaking because of how hard she was trembling. Loki had no time for that.

" Speak!" Loki growled, the magic around him seeming to swirl faster about him. With a sob, Sigyn spoke.

" H-He pr-promised me a-a jeweled comb from V-Vanaheim. I'm sorry Loki I-" Sigyn fell silent as Loki held up an unforgiving hand.

" You lost all right to call me by my name." Then Loki lowered his hand, clenched both of them into tight fists as his side as he stared down at Sigyn.

" A comb, a simple comb was all incentive you needed to play with the heart and feelings of a prince of Asgard." Loki took in a deep breath through his nostril, his mouth curling in bitter disgust as he spoke.

" I thought you to be a beautiful and intelligent maiden Sigyn, but I see now that I was wrong, so very wrong. You are nothing more than a magpie easily bought by the promise of a mere trinket, nothing more than my brother's obedient little dog."

Sigyn hung her head, sobbing in fresh agony and shame, while Volstaag gasped at the words that were spoke. A wide-eyed Sif covered her mouth with her hand, while Fandral looked truly afraid. Thor, Thor just stood there wide eyed and with his broken jaw hanging open at an odd angle. They were all so focused on the spectacle before them that they didn't pay any mind to the sound of fast approaching footsteps.

Loki for his part was focused solely on Sigyn as he spoke again.

" You have proven to me on this day that all you are is stupid and hideous to your very core. Now you will learn that it does not do to play with the hearts of others, especially Loki of Asgard." Now Loki's green eyes began to glow pure white as he stood to full height, looking several feet taller and looming over Sigyn where she knelt. In a voice that echoed seemingly through the ages, Loki brought down his punishment over the one who had hurt him most of all.

" I curse you Sigyn Daughter of Hymir, so that what is inside you matches what is outside. You are a magpie and a dog in you heart, hence forth shall this your form be, for all in the Nine to see." With that, Loki made a sharp sweeping gesture with his hand over Sigyn, who instantly let out this blood-curdling scream just as Odin and Frigga came rushing into the area.

There were cries of horror as Sigyn's pained scream turned into this unearthly sound that was an amalgamation of a bird's shriek and a hound's howl. Sigyn's long, strawberry blond hair flaked off of her head like tissue paper, fluttering to the floor as her flesh rapidly turned black, and her limbs began to lengthen and mutate.

" By the nine." Fandral swore as he watched Sigyn's form twist and reshape into something truly grotesque.

Sigyn let out another pained howl/shriek as black feathers flew about her as she reared onto her legs, that had turned into the hind-legs of a dog. Her upper body was that of a bird, with scrawny little black wings where her arms had one been. But it was her face that was the most hideous. It was as if a dog and a magpie had been melted together. Beady black eyes darted about frantically as Sigyn opened her jaws, that were a mutated cross of a large, crooked beak filled with sharp teeth, and screamed again.

Things rapidly descended into chaos after that, Volstaag and Fandral rushing forward to tackle Sigyn and stop her from throwing herself over the railing to her death. It had taken Sif joining them to hold her down, all of them pale and haunted as Sigyn shrieked and howled and struggled wildly under their restraining hands. But Sigyn's cries were nothing compared to Loki's. When the anger faded, only the pure despair remained as Loki threw his head back and roared so loud, the very foundation of the palace seemed to shake as his magic rampaged about him. Frigga tried her best to reach her youngest son, calling out his name frantically while Odin sternly held back the guards that had gathered, informing them that this was not some attack, but Loki.

And while all of this was happening, Thor just stood there watching it all with wide blue eyes and gaping broken jaw, the full weight of what his actions had wrought finally hitting him in full force, without any mercy.

_Back to the present..._

Thor reached up and wiped away the tear that coursed down his pale cheek with the back of his hand, sniffling as he forced himself to speak, his shattered voice loud in the utterly silent conference room.

" It took both mother and father's combined seidr to calm Loki down before he did anymore harm to himself. His seidr is a part of him, an integral part and it was manifesting his rage and betrayal to the point where in all honesty, he could very well have toppled the palace, but it would also have grievously injured him internally, so mother cast a sleeping spell on him. For nearly a month he lay under this spell, Mother personally tending to him while father had to take care of the mess I had caused."

" What, uh, what happened to Sigyn?" Clint asked, looking pale and clammy after hearing such a story. Thor looked up with fresh pain in his red and tearful eyes as he spoke.

" Father was able to turn Sigyn back after several weeks of her having to stay in her cursed form, even though he had half a mind to leave in the state Loki put her in as punishment for the part she had played. Her father Hymir had literally fallen before the Allfather's feet and begged for his daughter to be turned normal. Loki's curse was so strong, Father very nearly fell into the Odin sleep after he changed her back. I will never forget the way Sigyn looked once she was returned to her Asgardian form. Everything about her had changed, her bright strawberry-blond hair hung limp and lifeless about her head changed to the color of mud, her warm and glowing skin turned ghostly pale to where you could see her veins through it in some spots. And her eyes, her eyes that were such a vibrant hazel-green had turned black and devoid of their life. I stepped forward and tried to beg for her forgiveness, but she screamed and cowered away from me in terror. Father paid Hymir weregild for what I had done, but like Sigyn, Hymir would never forgive me. He resigned from the Palace guard immediately and took Sigyn and the rest of their family away to another realm entirely, we never heard from them again."

Thor shook his head and bowed his head a moment before he looked back up and continued.

" Father admonished me before the entire great hall and then placed me under house arrest for five months, I was to stay on the palace grounds and do menial tasks like muck out the stables or serve Lady Idunn in her orchards. I was also barred from having any contact with Loki, I was not even allowed to see him while he slept. My three friend were given similar punishments for their involvement. By the time my punishment was over, I was just too happy with it being over to realize that my actions had other far-reaching consequences."

"What consequences Thor?" Natasha asked, her face impassive, but with some of the hardness leaving her eyes. Even she had been effected by the tale. Thor sighed sadly.

" While I was indeed humiliated, the people of Asgard let me off easy, saying that what I had done was nought but the mischief of youth, but they were not kind to Loki. Rumor of what he had done, the curse he had placed on Sigyn spread throughout the kingdom. Without really knowing the full story, everyone grew wary of my brother and his seidr. To my ever lasting shame, he was already looked down upon for not being more like me, but now everyone could see that he was capable of dangerous things. When he awoke from the sleep my mother placed him in, I was still barred from going to him, so I watched from afar as people whispered behind his back calling him all manner of horrid things. When I was finally permitted to be in contact with my brother, I found that he too had changed. Before all of this there had been a brightness about my brother, a light in his green eyes and an easy smile on his lips. With my callous actions, I robbed him of all that. He too grew pale, the light in his eyes dimmed into this cold calculation behind a wall of ice, he started slicking his hair back and wearing the hard leathers and poison greens you now know him to wear. While I was allowed to go to him, he understandably did not want anything to do with me. For three whole years he did not speak to me, and he would always glare whenever I, Sif, Volstaag, or Fandral would come near." A humorless smile spread across Thor's face.

" When he finally did start speaking to me, I was too happy that he did to really notice that there was a wall between us now, that while he did accept the rather meager apology I offered him, he never forgot. The most shameful thing is that I did not learn from this, that this incident would not be the last time I broke my brother's heart, but the first of many. My arrogance returned, as did my recklessness, and while Loki would always be there watching my back, I would still tease him and never appreciate his talents with magic or with just his sharp mind, and Asgard followed the example I set in. In retaliation, Loki would use his magic to play tricks on everyone, me most of all. Some of these tricks were harmless, while others showcased the newly bred malice that was within him. That I caused." The smile dropped from Thor's face as he remembered something else, another consequence of his cruelty.

" Another lasting effect of what happened with Sigyn was that in that time, and in all the centuries that he has lived since, Loki has never looked at any other, maiden or man, with that bright hope and admiration I saw in him the day I discovered his feelings for Sigyn. They in turn have been wary of him. I know that in the later years my brother has had his fair share of conquests both in Asgard and elsewhere, but they were nothing more than meaningless trysts. He closed off his heart to everyone, not just any potential partner, everyone. Instead he took up the mantle of Trickster, and grew to be reviled by many within the kingdom." Thor shook his head.

" I had thought that my brother finding out about his true heritage, that he is Jotun by birth is what caused him to descend into the madness that ultimately led him to attack your realm. I am not making excuses for him, his actions and their consequences are all on his head, but I now realize that the revelation of his true origins was but the final blow to his spirit that I and my fellows had, for centuries been whittling away at without any regard or care." Then Thor let out a shaky breath, a tiny ghost of a smile on his heartbroken features.

" The son of Barnes is right, I truly am the last person to cast any kind of judgement on them."

Steve sat back and took a deep breath, fighting back the burning sensation that had started up in his eyes. Tony was completely silent, no witty quip forthcoming. Clint sat with his arms crossed and his jaw clenched, conflict clear in his eyes. Natasha was silent as she picked at one of her gauntlet. Everyone looked up when Bruce uttered a soft 'excuse me' before he all but ran out of the conference room, a faint tint of green visible on his skin. Out of everything they had been expecting to hear, the story that came out of Thor's mouth had definitely not been among them. It brought out a whole other side to Loki that none of them had ever though possible, that there was ever a time when Loki was not the insane villain they all fought against but a young prince who had been hopeful, so very hopeful and willing to give his heart to someone. As they all sat their muling over everything that had been revealed, from the true nature of Loki and Bucky's relationship, to the startling backstory of why Loki is who he is, they all had one collective though run through their minds.

What the Hell were they supposed to do now?

_Meanwhile, back down the hall at the window to the operating room while Thor was giving his own explanation... _

Bucky gritted his teeth lightly and crossed his arms over his chest tightly, the hoodie he had on obscuring his metal arm somewhat as he looked into the room on the other side of the clear glass. On the other side, Loki lay in the middle of the room, still on the operating table. The Asgardian, who had always been pale now matched the white sheets that were covering his lower half, and the sterile white gauze that now encased his entire right arm. The god was still deeply unconscious and intubated. The bright light shining from up above only made the colorless quality of Loki's skin stand out further, while also highlighting how purple and bruised up his eyelids look, the right one sporting a minor singe that glistened with the burn cream that had been slathered over it. Bucky absolutely hated the sight of it all.

The doctors were no longer frantically milling over Loki like they had been before, his condition having stabilized in the hour or so Bucky had spent explaining the true nature of his relationship with Loki. Now, Loki lay under substantial sedation, nearly three times the amount that was safe for a normal human by the looks of it. Bucky was instantly alert when a young nurse, looking somewhat harried came out of the operating room. Bucky cleared his throat lightly and stepped up to the young woman.

" Excuse me nurse?" He began, self-consciously tugging at the left sleeve of his hoodie to hide his bionic arm. The nurse looked up from the Stark pad she had been looking over to meet the uncertain blue eyes across from her.

" Yes sir?" She asked, keeping her tone light at seeing how concerned Bucky was and also recognizing him as one of the newest Avengers.

" I'm sorry to bother you, but could you tell me how Loki's doing?" Bucky asked. The nurse relaxed and nodded before she spoke.

" He's still intubated because the swelling in his throat hasn't gone down yet. We've treated and wrapped his burns and put him under heavy sedation so that he can rest. Had he been a regular human, he wouldn't have even made it here, but he's tough and hanging in there. We'll be moving him into a private room in about twenty minutes." The nurse sent Bucky a kindly smile, which Bucky returned wanly before he stepped aside and let her go, moving back towards the viewing window. He watched in silence as the doctors checked over Loki one final time.

Exactly twenty-three minutes later found Bucky sitting in a chair beside Loki's bed in a private room, the only sounds being the beeps and hisses of all the medical equipment Loki was hooked up to. Bucky rubbed at his face with his flesh and bone right hand, while his metallic left hand was gently gripping Loki's hand that wasn't encased in gauze . Bucky was extra careful to avoid the I.V. needles that were sticking out of the back of Loki's hand that he was holding though. Bucky's tired blue eyes once again went to Loki's face. While the gauze covered burn was on the other side of Loki's face, the dimmer light did little to make an improvement. Loki still looked too pale and his eyelids still looked bruised, but it was better than he had looked in the harsh light of the operating room. Bucky was focused on Loki, but not so focused that he didn't hear the sound of hesitant footsteps approaching. Bucky turned his head to the door of the room, tense and ready to defend, but he instantly deflated when he saw that it was Bruce Banner standing in the doorway.

" Hey." The Hulk's quiet counter-part said in greeting.

" Hi Bruce." Bucky said just a quietly as he relaxed.

" Can I come in?" Bruce asked, to which Bucky simply nodded yes.

Bruce stepped into the room and pulled up a chair as quietly as he could, taking a seat beside Bucky and letting his eyes take in Loki. It was jarring to see someone who had always been so formidable and active suddenly so still and pale. Bruce felt his stomach twist a little as the sight of the tube that was still down Loki's throat pumping air into him. It was unnerving to see Loki like this, his upper body devoid of his usual armor and left shirtless, his right arm encased in a cocoon of gauze, and his usually slicked back hair falling about in soft waves on the pillow under his head. Bruce let a small smile grace his lips when he caught sight of Bucky and Loki's joined hands. With a small breath, he turned to the former assassin and spoke.

" How's he doing?" Bucky blinked at Bruce, the only indication he gave that he'd been startled by the question before he licked his lips and spoke.

" They told me he's stable and um... that the swelling in his throat hasn't gone down yet so that's why they have to keep the tube in." Bruce nodded.

" Has he moved at all?" Bucky shook his head.

" No, he hasn't even twitched once. His chest only moves when the tube down his throat pushes air in and out of him." Bucky then let out a shaky breath and looked to Bruce with pained eyes.

" He's never this still, even when he sleeps he gets restless a lot."

Bruce felt the breath leave him for a second, stunned that Bucky was comfortable enough to share this mild, but no less intimate information about Loki with him. Quickly recovering, Bruce nodded and spoke.

" They've got him drugged up to his gills Bucky, he'll be like that for a while but he'll come out of it." Bucky nodded at Bruce's reassurances before he turned his eyes back to Loki. After a pause, Bucky spoke.

" Thor told you?" He asked, not saying anything else. Bruce didn't need anything further to know to what Bucky was referring. Bruce shook his head.

" Yeah, he told us what happened with Sigyn. I had to step out cause the other guy wanted really badly to let Thor have it." To Bruce's silent delight, he watched as an actual smile spread across Bucky's face, having never seen the somber ex-assassin look this way. It lit up his entire face and made him look like a person and...

Bruce paused here, all delight leaving him as a suddenly realization struck him. No, he was wrong, the fact that Bucky smiled didn't make him look like a person, he had always been a person, always. It was just that, bad people got a hold of him and didn't respect that irrefutable truth, and made Bucky himself forget that for a really long time.

" Bucky... James." Bruce said quietly, waiting for Bucky to turn to him before he continued.

" I'm sorry." The smile left Bucky's face as his brow knotted in confusion.

" For what?" Bruce smiled sadly.

" For the way I treated you when you first came here. I was really uncomfortable around you because of your history, and for focusing more on learning about how the bionic arm worked then on getting to know the person it's attached to."

Bucky's eyes widened in surprised for a moment before he relaxed and shook his head, a tired but warm smile returning to his face.

" It's okay, I didn't really feel much like a person when I got here anyway."

" That's no excuse, you never stopped being a person, not even when... they had you." Bruce sent Bucky an apologetic look that the former super-assassin just shrugged off, his blue eyes staying warm in a way Bruce couldn't get enough of. Bruce felt his heart swell a little.

This was the real Bucky, the real James really, sitting beside him. Even though it had taken all these months and today's harrow events and startling revelations, Bruce finally got it. He also realized that Loki had gotten it too, gotten it right off the bat before anybody else besides Steve according to Bucky's recount from earlier.

Bruce and Bucky tapered off into quiet conversation after that, although he wanted to know more about the relationship between Bucky and Loki, Bruce refrained from asking any questions about that. Instead he focused on asking Bucky what he remembered about the time he and Steve both came from.

It was maybe half an hour later that the rest of the team appeared at the door to Loki's recovery room. While Steve and Thor, both looking quiet and contrite entered the room, Bruce took his leave so that he could fill everyone else in on how Loki was doing out in the hall.

Thor stood at the foot of Loki's bed, his eyes wracking over his injured sibling's prone and pale form before the blue orbs settled on Loki's lax, uninjured hand that was carefully encased in Bucky's metallic fingers. Thor looked up from the joined hands to meet Bucky's gaze. Thor's eyes were unreadable, Bucky's were quietly defiant. Steve stood between them, his eyes darting from his best friend to his other friend, really hoping that they wouldn't get all up in each other's face again. His fears were unwarranted for after a second, Thor seemed to deflate and looked to Bucky with reluctant warmth and a small nod. Bucky relaxed at this, his eyes growing hopeful as he spoke.

" I could get up." Bucky said quietly as he moved to get up from his seat by Loki's bed, but Thor held up his hand and smiled sadly as he shook his head.

" Stay where you are son of Barnes." Thor then moved around the bed and continued as he sank down into the seat Bruce had been occupying.

" There is no need for you to move when there are plenty of chairs to pull up." Thor then turned to Steve.

" Join us friend Steve." A very relieved Steve nodded and took a seat in the chair that stood beside the door. He took a moment to take in the truly surreal scene before him.

His eyes fell just in time to see Bucky let go of Loki's hand, albeit with reluctance clear on his face but also understanding as Thor reached out to take hold of the lax hand, reverently entwining his fingers with Loki's unresponsive ones. While there was still a whole lot left to be said and done, at the moment a great deal of the tension had dissipated. Steve would take whatever peace he could get. It was ten minute later, after Bucky had quietly relayed to him and Thor what the doctors had told him that Steve decided to breach the subject. He got up and made his way over to Bucky, reaching out and carefully placing his hand over his friend's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Bucky looked up and met Steve's gaze, and one look was all he needed to understand.

It was time for that talk. Bucky turned to Thor.

" You'll let me know if anything changes?" Thor nodded solemnly.

" You have my word son of Barnes." Bucky nodded mutely before he rose from his seat. With a last lingering look at Loki, Bucky followed Steve out of the injured Asgardian's hospital room. They saw that the rest of the team was not there, most likely having gone upstair to clear the area and give the four of them some breathing room, since the current situation really revolved around Loki, Bucky, Thor, and Steve.

" Let's head up to your floor. We can talk there." Steve suggested quietly. Bucky nodded as he and Steve headed for the nearest elevator.

" Alright."

The ride down to Bucky's floor was filled with awkward silence, neither enhanced man uttering a single word as they stood side by side. When they reached Bucky's floor, the doors slid open with a soft ping, both of them giving JARVIS their thanks before they made a b-line for Bucky's living room area.

" You sit, I'll gonna make us some coffee." Steve said quietly waiting for Bucky to nod wordlessly before he headed for the kitchen area attached to the living room space.

Feeling his nervousness rising, Bucky took a seat on one of the plus sofas and eyed Steve in the kitchen. His blue eyes followed Steve as the super-soldier went about grabbing two mugs from one of the cupboards before setting one of them down into the coffee maker that stood on the counter. Bucky could see the definite tension in Steve's shoulders as he stood waiting for the first mug to fill. Bucky picked nervously at the sleeve of his hoodie that covered his metal arm as he made himself look away from Steve's sober profile. Bucky could feel dread pooling in his stomach.

How badly was Steve going to rip him a new one for starting a relationship with former public enemy No. 1?

A few minutes later Bucky looked up when a steaming dark blue mug was held out to him. Bucky took the offering, eying Steve as the other man took a seat beside him, a mug in his own hand.

" Thanks." Steve met Bucky's gaze and nodded.

" Don't mention it."

The pair fell silent as they each took careful sips from the mugs in the hands. The hot liquid was soothing to them both, and tasted way better than they remembered back in the 1920's. It was Bucky who took a deep breath and finally broke the silence.

" I'm not sorry for being with him Steve, but I am sorry that you and everyone had to find out this way." He said quietly. Steve sighed deeply and set his cup down on the glass coffee table. Resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together, Steve turned to pin Bucky with a hard look.

" Why didn't you just tell me Buck? Did he tell you not to?" Bucky shook his head.

" No, I was the one who told him not to say anything, to keep what was between us a secret." The Bucky let out a small snort, a sad smile spreading across his face before he turned to Steve's curious gaze.

" He couldn't care less what you all thought about him, he would have gone out of his way to flaunt that fact the we were together right in your faces. He kept the act because it was what I wanted." Steve found himself smiling, knowing the truth in Bucky's words. But he also realized that Loki had forgone what he had wanted in order to accommodate Bucky's feelings. It was something Steve never thought he'd ever see Loki do.

" How did you guys manage not to get caught for all these months? To carry on right under our noses?" Bucky shrugged.

" We were just really careful, and lucky I guess. At first I would climb up to his room late at night and we'd be together, making sure JARVIS stopped recording. But then Loki found his own loophole, he asked JARVIS what all of his restrictions were and then realized that while he can't teleport outside the tower or into any restricted areas, he could teleport into non-restricted places, so he teleported into my room one night. JARVIS didn't sound the alarm because Loki hadn't broken any of the rules, so he's been teleporting into my room ever since." Steve nodded, kind of not believing that Loki had taken such time and effort to figure out a way to be with Bucky that was more convenient and safe for his best friend. But another question struck him.

" Did you guys spend time anywhere else?" To this, he watched as a faint blush spread across Bucky's cheeks, a slightly sheepish look spreading across the Winter Soldier's face as he nodded.

" Almost every day we'd sneak some contact with each other when the coast was clear. Like when he'd go to the library down on the seventh floor, I'd sneak in and we'd spend some time together. Or I'd be working out in one of the training rooms alone and suddenly he'd be there and we'd..." Bucky trailed off, ducking his head shyly, a fond smile playing on his lips.

Steve felt his own face heat up at the implication in Bucky's words, because this was his best friend revealing some intimate details about his love-life, with an actual Norse God of all people, a formerly homicidal, would-be conquering, currently on parol Norse God. Steve shook his head as he contemplated for a moment.

His contact with Loki had been all around negative thus far, without mentioning the whole Chitauri debacle, Steve's interactions with Loki after he came to the tower were pretty much him yelling at Loki after the battles where the Trickster had taken his sweet time to help out, ripping him a new one for said Chitauri invasion, or just plain avoiding him in general. Everyone else was basically the same, mostly wanting nothing to do with Loki. Loki in turn would keep his interaction with everyone else at a minimum, for every time anyone reamed him out, he would just talk back to them snidely, hissing out some of his signature sharp insults and then leaving the room. Steve realized that after Bucky came to the tower, he found himself reaming out Loki less and less, not because he had started liking Loki or anything, but because Loki had stopped giving him so many reasons to.

On top of that, Bucky had been the only one that Loki had ever come to near blows with. While Clint had punched Loki in the face a couple times after the god took up residence with them, he never hit the archer back, just taunted him verbally for being such a weak hitter. Clint had since gone to just glaring the hell out of Loki when ever the Asgardian was near. He and everyone else would get so caught up in the now revealed to be illusory conflict between Loki and Bucky, that they never once grew suspect as to why out of a whole tower filled with people he had obvious bad-blood with, Loki would come to near blows with the one person he had never met or had any kind of negative interaction with.

A shaky breath brought Steve out of his musings. He focused on Bucky in time to see the uncertain look on the brunette's face.

" Are you mad?" Steve felt his heart twinge at this before he shook his head and smiled sadly.

" No, I'm not. Really." At Bucky's slightly incredulous look, Steve reached out and griped his friend's shoulder firmly as he spoke with a sigh.

" I'll admit, today shocked the hell outta me. And at first, yeah I was a little angry, I mean this is Loki we're talking about here. My first thought was that he had cast some kind of spell on you or something." Bucky nodded in understanding as Steve continued.

" But then you showed us that warding crystal and started talking about how you sought him out, I grew less angry and more curious cause you're right, Loki could have sent you through the wall or the window without even using his magic. And then I started remembering how he was when you got hurt saving me." Steve paused as said memories came to the forefront of his mind.

" I know Loki's the god of lies and all, but you just can't make up the terror I saw in his face, or the way he sounded when he yelled out your name and ran to you before anyone us could. He gave you over to me instead of holding you himself. And the way you both looked at each other before he grabbed you and healed you, I don't think even he, the god of lies, would be able to fake that. What really struck me was how even though he went after Doom, Loki didn't kill him, just roasted him with magic and then sent him flying. And then when Thor told us about what happened with Sigyn, after that I just, I couldn't stay mad." Steve trailed off, watching as Bucky blinked back the soft sheen that had overtaken his blue eyes as he had spoke. The grateful look Bucky sent him just made Steve's heart twist inside his chest.

Without hesitating, Steve tightened the grip he had on Bucky's hoodie and gently pulled, surging forward himself and wrapping his best friend in a tight hug. Bucky was tense for a moment, and then he seemed to just melt, his arms going around Steve and squeezing almost like a vice in reciprocation and just plain relief. Steve found he had to blink his own eyes a bit, something had gotten into them. Taking in a deep breath, Steve spoke against Bucky's shoulder.

" Thank you for saving my life today Bucky." Bucky let out a watery huff against Steve's shoulder as he shook his head.

" What kind of best friend would I be if I let you get turned into a smoking pile of ash?" Steve let out a watery chuckle of his own as he gave Bucky a good thump on the back. But his laughter soon turned to concern when he heard Bucky let out a shaky breath and tighten his hold around the super-soldier. Before Steve could ask his friend what was wrong, Bucky spoke against his shoulder.

" What if what Loki did for me was too much for him? You saw how much saving me took out of him." Bucky let out a shaky exhale here before he finished, his voice quiet yet filled with immense terror.

" What if he doesn't wake up?"

Steve sat there stunned for a moment, because it suddenly struck him that there was a possibility that what the fear Bucky had just given voice to could become reality. He didn't know the true state Loki was in, only that the god had expended massive amounts of his magic to save Bucky's life. What stunned Steve more is that the very thought of Loki not waking up left him feeling completely chilled inside. Even though he could scarcely believe it himself, he didn't want Loki to not wake up. Squeezing Bucky back just as hard, Steve spoke.

" Hey, don't talk like that. Loki's way tougher than he looks, I mean during the invasion Hulk smashed him into Tony's floor like a rag doll and he walked away from that with only a few bruises. He's gonna get through this, I mean he has to."

" What?" Bucky asked as he drew back a little to meet Steve's mirth-filled blue eyes. Steve smiled as he answered.

" He's gotta wake up so I can give him the best friend shovel talk." There was a moment of silence before both Steve and Bucky were chuckling and drawing each other back into a warm embrace.

" Seventy some odd years and your still a punk Rogers." Bucky said, a light tremor in his voice.

" And your still a huge jerk for keeping this from me Barnes." Steve shot back, all though his own voice had turned a bit thick. Bucky let out another watery laugh as he and Steve finally drew apart.

After that Steve went about grilling Bucky some more about what kind of romantic partner Loki Odinson was capable of being, and while he remained coy for the most part, Bucky did let Steve know that Loki never forced him into anything and was actually a very attentive partner. Steve was still trying to make sense of this newly revealed side to his former enemy when he was suddenly struck by a realization.

" Oh my God!" Steve exclaimed as his eyes went about frantically taking Bucky in.

" What Steve?" Bucky asked, concerned.

" Wha I- Crap, with everything that happened I- Did you get yourself checked out at medical?" Steve asked rapidly. Bucky just blinked at him before he spoke.

" No Steve, I'm alright." Steve was having none of it as he got to his feet and all but hauled Bucky after him.

" Uh-uh, we're going back upstairs right now." Bucky's protests fell on deaf ears as he was basically dragged back to the medical wing by his best friend turned mother hen.

About half an hour later, after Bucky had gone through a full and thorough medical check up and was give a clean bill of health by the doctors, without any trace of the plasma burns that had nearly ended him, he and Steve headed back down the hall to recovery to see the one who was responsible for Bucky's good health.

Thor looked up from Loki when Steve knocked on the door to announce his and Bucky's presence. Thor nodded to them and they shuffled in, neither of them commenting on the reddened quality to Thor's eyes. Bucky focused instantly on Loki where he still lay pale and not breathing on his own. He took the empty seat beside Thor and spoke without taking his eyes off his lover.

" Has there been any change?" Thor let out a small sigh.

" No, my brother still lies senseless." He said quietly. Bucky finally looked away to meet Thor's tired gaze.

Things fell into silence after that, Thor looking like there was a lot he wanted to say but simply could not articulate, Bucky keeping most of his focus on Loki, while Steve peppered Thor with a few questions here and there. Finally, Steve turned to Thor.

" Thor, how about we go upstairs for a bit, Bucky can stay with Loki, and there's some things I really need to talk to you about." Steve said quietly.

Thor looked ready to protest but from the slightly pleading look Steve was giving him, Thor acquiesced and rose from his seat closest to Loki. He leaned down and placed his hand over the crown of Loki's head, lingering a few moments.

" Awaken soon brother." He said softly before he forced himself to draw away. As he stepped away, Thor unexpectedly reached out and gripped Bucky's shoulder tightly and spoke.

" You will do the same for me as I promised to do for you earlier Son of Barnes?" He asked, a ghost of a smile across his sad features.

" Of course." Bucky said immediately, reaching up with his bionic hand and squeezing Thor's wrist for a fleeting moment. Thor nodded and let go while Bucky rose to his feet for a moment to take up the chair that his lover's older brother had just vacated. Thor's gesture did not go unnoticed by Steve, who kept quiet and waited as with one last lingering look at his unconscious brother, Thor joined him. The two blonds bid farewell to Bucky and stepped out of Loki's room, walking side by side up the hall towards the elevator. The ride up to the communal area below Tony's penthouse was made in mostly silence, Steve quietly asking JARVIS if the others were in that area, to which the A.I. had confirmed that all of the other members of the team were currently gathered in the communal living room area.

When the doors to the elevator opened with a soft chime, Steve and Thor stepped out to see that the other Avengers were already sitting at the large round dining table.

" Hey Spangles and Sparky, glad you finally came up to join us." Tony greeted, raising his usual glass of scotch as Steve and Thor took their seats at the table.

" How's Reindeer Games doing?" Thor just shook his head.

" No change still." Tony then turned to Steve.

" Heavy Metal with him?" Steve sent Tony a dirty look, which the billionaire shrugged off, and nodded. Tony took a sip of his drink and then chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

" Somebody call the Academy cause we gotta a pair of former super-villains turned terrific actors, geez." Bruce snorted.

" We never once suspected there was anything other than animosity between them, but you all saw, they have something real." Steve nodded before he spoke.

" Yeah, apparently they'd sneak around to see each other everyday, right under our noses." Clint let out a small snort.

" Our resident ex-maniac being a tender, loving boyfriend. I'd like to see that before I believe it."

There were noises of agreement all around at Clint's words, and Tony swirled his drink around, staring at the ice floating within the amber liquid before he was suddenly struck with an idea.

" Well Cupid, your wish is my command. Oh JARVIS?" Tony called.

" Tony wait, you can't just-" Steve began when Tony cut him off.

" Relax Stars and Stripes, I'll ask for an edited version." Tony assurance was soon followed by the posh British voice sounding from up above.

" You called sir?"

" Yeah, listen, I get why you kept Loki and Bucky a secret from us for privacy's sake but, could you pull up some footage of what Cap here just mentioned, about our two lovebirds pulling there own brand of covert ops romance right under us?" Tony paused and them smirk.

" Robin Hood here's being a little perv and wants to see some action." Clint sputtered and sent Tony an indignant look.

" Hey man, if anybody's a perv around here it's you, your the one who's asking JARVIS to pull up the video!" Natasha stepped in here.

" Settle down boys." Steve chimed in.

" Guys, I don't think we should pry like this." Tony shook his head.

" Don't worry, we'll skip all the x-rated stuff and get to the lovey-dovey. So JARV, you got your specifications, just show us any tender moments you caught."

" Very well sir, as the rules you have set specify, while I cannot show any footage of what happens behind the closed doors to private rooms and areas, I can show you anything that happened in any of the public areas of the tower concerning Mr. Barnes and Mr. Odinson." Natasha was suddenly struck with an idea as she spoke.

" JARVIS, add in all footage of the fake fights these two had, I wanna see the actual performance."

" Very well Ms. Romanov. Please allow me a moment to compile a reel, after all my observances span several months."

A few minutes later, the projector from up above was turning on, presenting the Avengers were a holographic image as JARVIS spoke.

" I shall begin chronologically with the first staged altercation between Mr. Barnes and Mr. Odinson shortly after they became intimate."

Everyones eyes were glues to the projection as the very common room they were all currently sitting in came to view. The date read for five and a half months ago and everyone was gathered in an off day. They all zeroed in on Bucky and Loki's positions. Bucky was siting at the table staring blankly at nothing while Steve appeared to be preparing lunch, most likely hamming up his usual dead silent behavior. Loki was sitting in the living room area, glowering as he always did, but he sat right in Bucky's line of sight while Thor and Tony seemed engrossed in a deep discussion about something on the T.V.

At first everything was going as usual, Bucky and Loki sitting quietly as everyone else went about their business. Then JARVIS spoke.

" I would like to direct you attention to Mr. Barnes and Mr. Odinson at this time." The A.I them zoomed in on the two people in question.

They all watched as a look passed between Loki and Bucky, a smile playing in Loki's green eyes. Then in the blink of an eye, they were both moving, Bucky rising swiftly from his chair and Loki gracefully jumping over the back of the sofa. Within seconds they were facing off against each other, with very convincing looks of mutual anger and hatred on their faces as they hissed out insults at each other while everyone was too stunned by the sudden turn of events to do anything but watch on. They kept insulting each other, until Loki called Bucky a "one-armed pissant." This caused Bucky to growl and surge forward with his metal arm raised as he called Loki a " Snake-tongued asshole." Steve and Thor now had to smile as they watched themselves jump into the fray, separating their respective brother and hauling them off towards the opposite sides of the room while the others watched on.

The next image that JARVIS showed them was a split screen showing Steve and Thor dragging their respective ex-villain loved one down separate halls. While Steve was assuring Bucky, Thor was sternly lecturing Loki. While Bucky was blank-faced and Loki was rolling his eyes, JARVIS paused the video at the moment where each of them looked away from their respective blond guardian to allow a small, secret smile to grace their features.

" Geez they fooled us good." Bruce said, a smile on his features. Clint snorted

" Indeed, Mr. Odinson and Mr. Barnes were very convincing in appearing to dislike each other immensely, however, allow me to show you what happened a few hours after this first faux confrontation between them."

Everyone focused of the projection once more as the image changed to one of the usual sunlit corridors of the tower. The time stamp at the bottom of the rectangular screen showing that it was in the middle of the tower, somewhere between Bruce and Steve's floors. There standing before the large, floor to ceiling length glass panes was Loki. The Asgardian was looking out at the beautiful city scape that surrounded Stark tower, a thoughtful look over his sharp features with his green eyes seeming to glow in the oncoming sunlight. Steve had to admit, if only to himself that he wished he had his sketchpad with him so that he could capture Loki as he was in the security footage because he cut a very striking figure.

Then a familiar metallic hand came into view, the bionic fingers and palms coming to splay across the center of Loki's back as Bucky Barnes joined him. Loki didn't startle or anything, just turned his head to see the quietly smiling face of his lover as Bucky trailed his hand down the length of Loki's back. The camera angle switched so that they could see the pair against the backdrop of sunlight and cityscape. It was Loki who spoke first as he turned fully to face Bucky, the Winter Soldier doing the same.

" That was a very good first performance James."

" Likewise." Loki quirked an eyebrow.

" All though your insults could always use improvement." Bucky rolled his eyes and smiled.

" Hey, not all of us have centuries worth of practice in sharp-tongued insults." Everyone else watched stunned as a full, un-adultered grin spread across Loki's face, lighting it up in a way that had nothing to do with the sunlight streaming in.

There was no malice or madness in this grin, just warmth and happiness, something no one, not even Thor thought the Trickster was capable of anymore. Thor felt his eyes start to fill at the sight, but stubbornly kept them back as he watched on.

Loki's grin faded into something more quiet, but the warmth remained in his bright green eyes as he gazed at Bucky. Something seemed to shift in the air between them then. They all watched as Loki hesitantly leaned forward, looking uncharacteristically unsure. There was no hesitance with Bucky though as the slightly shorter man leaned up and met Loki halfway, eagerly pressing his lips to the Asgardian's in a surprisingly chaste kiss.

Steve found himself blushing and looking away. Tony had no such problem as he tilted his head, his genius brain analyzing what he was seeing. He had expected Loki to be the more forward and rough one out of him and Bucky, the one to dominate his mortal lover like he wanted to dominate the world. Instead it was Bucky who appeared to be the more assertive one. Tony was about to make some inappropriate comment about his deduction, but then when he remembered what Thor had revealed to them earlier, the kind of crap Loki had been through, the comment died on Tony's lips. He could always make fun of Loki later. To the god's face... at the risk of his own life. Tony felt his lips quirk up at the corner as ideas started forming in his head.

Clint clenched his jaw tightly as he watched Loki and Bucky pull apart after a few long moments, Loki keeping his eyes closed for a moment and then opening them slowly as he looked off to the side, seeming to need a moment to compose himself. The archer felt like there was a war going on inside him. On the one hand, he didn't want to see this, not because he had a problem with two guys being together, but because it was Loki. After the history he had with the god, he didn't want to see Loki as anything other than the madman and murderous son of a bitch who tried to subjugate Earth and violated his mind to make him do some terrible thing. He wanted to keep seeing Loki as nothing but the monster he was... is. But on the other, after hearing the sad story of what had happened with Sigyn, seeing for himself the lengths Loki would go to keep Bucky safe, and watching him now as he was overwhelmed by a simple kiss, Clint felt his heart crack.

But he didn't want to feel it damn it! He wanted to keep hating the psychotic asshole and...

Clint let out a small sigh and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Whether he liked it or not, today had changed things irrevocably. He and everyone else could no longer see Loki as just the former villain, the god on parol after he tried to take over the world, the unwanted attachment to their mash-up of broken parts that seemed to somehow work. It hit Clint like a ton of bricks really.

Loki was a person, there was more to him than just what he had done. That he had been hurt in ways they could never had thought of, and could still be hurt. But most of all, that it wasn't all just ice in there, Loki still felt things, he wasn't as reticent and callous as he wanted everyone to believe.

Above all, what struck Clint the most was that after today, he could never again say that Loki was incapable of love because even after what he had gone through with Sigyn, and then later with his own family regarding his true heritage, he had still allowed Bucky in, and what was between them had deepened to where Loki had been willing to lay down his own life for the former super-assassin.

Subconsciously, Clint felt his eyes travel across the table where a certain red-head was sitting with a frown of calculation over her otherwise impassive face as she focused solely on the projection before them. Clint caught himself staring and focused his attention back on the projection in time to hear Loki speak once he had quickly composed himself and spoke.

" So we're really going to do this?" Bucky nodded, gazing firmly at Loki.

" Yeah. I've wanted you for two months, and after last night, I mean to keep you." Loki's lips quirked at the blunt statement, but he was otherwise silent as he now reached up and wrapped his arms around Bucky's shoulders, pulled the other man in close and leaning forward without hesitation as he sealed his lips over Bucky's in a searing kiss while the former assassin wrapped his own arms, both flesh and metal around Loki in turn and enthusiastically returned the kiss. Things looked like they were going to escalate fast from there into what promised to be one Hell of a make-out session.

Thankfully, JARVIS didn't linger on the intimate moment and cut away. Tony let out a small whine.

" Aw JARV, it was just getting to the good part." It was Thor who spoke at this, pinning Tony with a smiling on his lips but a warning look in his bright blue eyes.

" Have care Man of Iron, that is my brother you're talking about." Steve put his simple two cents in as well.

" And my best friend Stark." There was a beat of silence where Tony found himself well and truly pinned under two bright blue gazes. Feeling his ears turning red, Tony kept up the nonchalance to hide his awkwardness as he spoke to Jarvis.

" Alright JARVIS, let's keep this show going." JARVIS proceeded to the next event

" Of course sir."

For a good ten minutes they all watched as Loki and Bucky had fake fights, but met up in secret. Tony was amused to notice that Bucky's insults did indeed improve as the footage of the fights rolled on. Thor felt his heart crack as he watched Loki's smiles come more easily with each time he met the Son of Barnes in secret. What everyone noticed was that while sometimes the secret meetings did turn into heated, intimate moments, other times it was just Loki and Bucky being close, one time showed the two of them in another corridor, sitting side by side on the floor against the wall with the view of the city before them, talking quietly about things a normal couple would talk about. Bucky would ask Loki about Asgard, Loki in turn would ask Bucky about what he remembered New York being like during the era that he and Steve are originally from. It was all of these intimate moments captured in public places throughout the tower. Another time showed Loki inspecting the warding crystal he had given Bucky, carefully pushing back the metal panel in Bucky's arm to get a good look at it before nodding and

There were also a couple of laugh-out-loud moments where the intrepid pair were almost caught. On one amazing occasion by the shared gym, Loki showed off his magic by turning himself into a potted plant mid-makeout when Bruce happened to walk by. Bucky offering an awkward greeting to the Hulk's counterpart, to which Bruce has just as awkwardly greeted back before going on his way, oblivious to what he had interrupted. They had all watched as Loki turned back into himself with a flash of gold magic. He had had a truly murderous look on his face and looked like he had wanted to go after Bruce when Bucky had pulled him back and resumed kissing the hell out of him. A different incident showed off Bucky's own talents at hiding. Loki had been in the library on the seventh floor, reading, cause he did that a lot, like seriously, it was like he'd inhale books in a matter of seconds. Anyway, Loki was dressed in a more casual version of his usual Asgardian leathers reading a book, a history text about New York no less, when Bucky walked in.

Loki looked up and sent Bucky a quiet, knowing smile. Bucky returned the gesture as he came up behind Loki and leaned down for a quick peck on the lips before asking Loki what he was reading about. There was a happy look on Bucky's face when Loki indicated the book, and they began to have another quiet conversation when Thor's booming voice sounded. Steve was laughing out loud, Thor chuckling beside him as they watched Bucky scramble out of sight, Loki putting up an air of nonchalance as he greeted his brother. As Thor strode into the room and began a boisterous conversation he started walking around, coming close to the bookshelves. The camera panned around the room in time to see Bucky carefully climb up onto the top of the large curved bookshelves Thor was standing by, glaring down at the top of the Thunderer's blond head in clear annoyance.

" Oh my god this is priceless!" Tony chuckled as he watched Bucky show off some superior balance.

Thor was just shaking his head.

" The Son of Barnes is quite agile I must admit." He said with a quirk of his lips and amusement on his face. Steve was grinning ear to ear at seeing his friend basically hiding for his life from his lover's big brother. And from the looks of it, Loki was fighting back laughter of his own.

They watched as Loki half-hazardly nodded along to what Thor was saying, promising to spar with the Thunderer the next morning bright and early. They watched as Thor seized Loki in what was surely a rib-bending hug that took the Trickster clear off the ground, while Loki did a very fine impression of grumpy-cat as he lightly patted Thor's massive bicep. Thor took his leave shortly after that, Loki signaling to Bucky when the coast was clear.

They watched as Bucky jumped down from his hiding spot while Loki threw back his head and laughed.

The Avengers were stunned to see this, because this was not some evil cackle, but a genuine belly laugh. It made the smile lines around Loki's eyes stand out, along with the dimples in his cheeks. In the video, Bucky glowered at his lover's mirth.

" Hey, shut up, at least I didn't have to sprout leaves." Loki just kept on laughing as he eyes Bucky, a challenge clear in his bright green eyes as he spoke.

" That was a very fine impersonation of a Midgardian feline my dear James." Bucky snorted and took a menacing step towards Loki.

" I said shut up Bean Pole." Loki of course answered back.

" Make me oh unstoppable Soldier of Winter." That was all it took as with a growl Bucky lashed out and hooked his metal hand around the back of Loki's neck and yanked him forward, crashing their lips together roughly. Loki gave just as good as he got, as Bucky wrapped his arms around Loki's waist tightly. Loki in turn reached up and cupped Bucky's face in his hands. As the kiss grew more heated, the Avenger's found themselves having to look away as Bucky pulled Loki with him towards the bookshelves, the pair stumbling as they ducked behind the non-fiction section. Jarvis thankfully cut the feed after that.

There was a beat of silence before Tony spoke, looking up at the ceiling to his non-corporeal companion.

" Hey JARV?"

" Yes Mr. Stark?"

" Please have someone come in and decontaminate that library."

" If I may sir, that will not be necessary. The incident you all witnessed just now happened approximately two and a half months prior, and Mr. Barnes and Mr. Odinson did not partake in sexual intercourse in the seventh floor library, or any other public place within the tower. Contrary to what you would believe, they have both shown utmost respect for the building sir and are only intimate in the bedrooms they have been designated." Tony let out the breath he was holding.

" Well that's a relief. Won't have to grab the Lysol then."

There were snorts and chuckles all around at that, many visualizing Tony in a pair of yellow rubber gloves and cleaning supplies, vowing to scrub every inch of the tower himself.

But everyone's attention one again went to the projection as it changed. For the first few minutes there were more secret rendezvous' about the tower that had been captured, and one very enthusiastic secret sparring session in one of the training rooms that had culminated with Bucky and Loki ducking into the showers with clear intentions to do more than just shower. Thankfully JARVIS had cut that part out of the reel. Then the reel shifted to something more serious than the 'lovey-dovey' as Tony called it.

It was back in that same library, but focused on the sitting area that was a circle of plush looking wine colored sofas and couches. There cutting a lonely figure on one of these sofas was Loki. He had a book in his hands sure, but they could all see that he wasn't really looking at it, his gaze far away and his face showing that there was anger simmering beneath the surface. The Asgardian was dressed in his full leathers, sans his signature horned helmet. It was like he literally had all of his armor up, making him seem impenetrable. Then Bucky was there, wordlessly yet easily taking a seat beside Loki with a small sigh, dressed in his own battle gear, but with his face mask absent.

It was Loki who spoke without looking up.

" I thought I made it clear I wished to be left alone. It's not wise to be in my presence right now." Bucky leaned back against the sofa and gave a light shrug, not looking at Loki.

" Who said I was wise?" Loki sat up a little straighter at that but still did not look up. There was a long moment of silence before Bucky spoke.

" I don't care what kind of bad blood is between you and Barton, he still had no right to call you that." Bucky said quietly.

All eyes turned to Clint, who shrugged at first until he remembered and let out a small sigh and nodded.

" Yeah it was after we fought off Amora and Skurge last month, and during the battle Amora hit Loki with magic that made him turn blue for a little while. I called him an ugly blue skinned freak when we got into it after the threat had been contained. Loki looked like he wanted to skin me alive, but he just walked away. Come to think of it, Barnes looked like he wanted to kick my ass too, but I just thought he was mad at Loki. Proves how much I know."

Everyone looked back up at the projection when Loki spoke.

" Barton has many reasons to hate me, I do not begrudge him that, nor do I have any expectations from him. Besides that, he's one of Thor's friends after all, since when have any of my brother's friends ever had any regard for me? It's the way it was when we were young, it's the way it is now even after all of these centuries."

An damn it if that didn't have Thor ducking his head in shame, while the other Avengers all looked distinctly uncomfortable, even Natasha. They all watched as Loki spoke, still without looking up, even though he closed the book in his hands.

" Why are you here James, shouldn't you be upstairs enjoying the customary victory meal with the others?" Bucky sat up and looked at Loki.

" I wanted to see if you were alright, and besides that, I... I'm not one of Thor's friends, I'm yours." That had Loki finally looking up, his sharp eyes skewering Bucky as he spoke.

" You would do well not to patronize me mortal, it will end very badly for you." Bucky didn't so much as blink at the threat.

" I am not patronizing you and you know it." Then with a sigh, Bucky reached out with his mortal hand and gripped Loki's shoulder firmly, and boldly considering how Loki's eyes still held that dangerous quality within them. When Loki remained guard, Bucky spoke.

" For someone who's got centuries of knowledge and experience, you're pretty oblivious if you haven't realized yet that I'm not just your lover, but your friend too."

They could all see how much Bucky's words were throwing Loki for a loop. Thor felt a tell-tale sting behind his eyes and a surge of gratitude towards Bucky as he watched on. Loki seemed to be searching for the right words, but stayed silent as Bucky's hand moved away from his shoulder to cup the side of his neck as Bucky spoke.

" I don't seek you out every day just because we share a bed, if it was just about that I'd only come see you in your room and just have you, and we wouldn't be going through the trouble of putting on a show for everyone else. I asked you that first night if we could try working through our second chances together, to be better people than we were. That's means I'm gonna be doing exactly what I'm doing now, which is just being here with you. If you need to vent, I'm here to listen to what you have to say, just like you do for me. If you don't feel like saying anything then I'll just sit right here beside you and keep quiet. I'm not going anywhere."

Loki held Bucky's gaze for a few moments before he looked away, dislodging Bucky's warm hand from it's place at his neck and scoffed as he reopened the book in his hand and hissed venomously.

" You mortals and your sentiment, it's stomach curdling."

But from the way Loki was carefully avoiding a now smiling Bucky's gaze, the Avengers could all see that the Winter Soldier's words had struck a cord within the God of Mischief. Bucky let his hand fall to his side and looked away himself, a warm, lightly amused look on his face. But as the Avengers watched on, they saw something they didn't expect.

Without looking up from the book he was now determinedly staring at, they all watched as Loki transferred the book to one hand and reached out to the side with the other. His long and pale fingers sought out Bucky's hand and twined themselves around the former Assassin's flesh and bone fingers. Bucky looked to Loki and smiled quietly as he squeezed the Asgardian's hand back, not uttering a word while the god pointedly did not look up from the book in his other hand, pursing his lips. It was along moment before Loki spoke two quiet words, almost a whisper, into the silence between them.

" Thank you."

The projection ended after that, cutting off to black and then being sucked up into the ceiling as JARVIS turned off the projection light.

Thor did nothing to hide the tears that were streaming down his heartbroken face. Steve looking a little misty eyed himself from where he sat beside the Thunderer. Bruce sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Natasha looked deep in thought, her eyes focused on the shining table top. Across from her Clint sat with his arms crossed and his jaw clenched, trying to keep the emotions ranging from sadness to shame from showing on his face. And finally, Tony say staring into the ice that remained in the glass of scotch he had sat down at the table with, suddenly finding the cubes of frozen water very interesting.

Once again, they were all left wondering just what the heck they were supposed to do now. And also realizing that when it came to Bucky _and_ Loki, they had really dropped the ball in some way or form.

Meanwhile, several floors down in the medical floor of Avenger's tower...

Bucky Barnes sat by Loki's bedside, the only movement from the terribly burned Asgardian being the mechanical up and down of his chest as the tube down his throat pumped oxygen into his lungs for him. There was a definite sheen to Bucky's blue eyes as he gazed at his injured lover and friend. Ironically, he had Loki's pale and slack fingers intwined with his own flesh and bone fingers, just like in the projection their team-mates had just finished watching.

Outside, the sun was setting over the city that never sleeps, the sky a multitude of colors in twilight. Signaling the end of a long and very revealing day, and the start of an even longer night of waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Marvel Universe or Disney, The Amazing Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, or anyone else involved with the movies or comics are the ones who do. I am not making any profits from this writing, it is all for the purposes of fun and creative writing.

Author's note: Sorry if anything seems OOC, just wrote what was in my head because I like this pairing.

Chapter 3

An inky blackness surrounded him on all sides. That was the first thing Loki became aware off. It was like thick, murky oil and he was trying to swim through it. When he opened his mouth, no sound came forth, and it felt like there was something hard and immovable inside his throat. He could vaguely hear muffled noises in the distance. The seemed so very far away that Loki couldn't make out what they were. His entire body felt like it was numb, a low, vibrating hum going on beneath him. His right side in particular felt like there were thousands of ants crawling all under his skill, and under the skin of his ribs on that side as well. As more awareness slowly returned to him Loki felt that something was wrong with the right side of his face as well.

As he floated there in the oily blackness, Loki wondered why he was here of all places, and where exactly the was. But it was when he wondered how he got here that the disjointed memories started to bombard him. Doom and his ugly face has attacked the city and they had all assembled to stop him. He remembered Doom bots flying to pieces, some of them by his own hand. He remembered destruction and whitish-purple fire blasted from the cannons of Dooms large war tank.

Loki remembered how he had put up a magic barrier to shield not just himself but the other Avengers as well. It had been the first time he'd stepped forward to defend his former enemies without being screamed at to do so. There had been chaos all about, that imbecile Doom had aims his cannons right at him while he had been shielding everyone. He had transported himself safely while still maintaining the shield. They had all banded together after that, attacking and disabling the Doom's plasma cannons.

But it had been as they had surrounded Doom that things had gone horribly wrong. One of the cannons hadn't been dead, it had fired... at Rogers, but he had been pushed out of the way.

James had pushed Rogers out of the way. James had gone flying backwards to crash into a nearby car and fall to the ground, burned and broken.

Running, he had run as fast a s he could to get to James. His James. James who besides Thor was the only one in all of Midgard who loves him. James. James had been crying, blood had been seeping out of his mouth. James had looked terrified. Loki himself had been terrified.

NO, NO! James was not going anywhere, James was not going to leave any of them, not going to leave him. Summon his seidr, his seidr was the only way. Loki had pulled all the seidr he could muster. Damn the consequences to himself.

James' lips, salty, tinted with tears and blood. Needed to fix everything that was wrong, he had to, he had to. Seidr had to go into James, needed to go into every burnt and broken part. Fire, golden fire between their joined lips.

Love.

Then it was over, James had been fixed. Doom was still there, pain all up and down his right arm, the side of his face. Pain did not matter, Doom needed to pay! Seidr fading, just needed a little more. Teleported, found sad sack of dirt Doom, burn him, BURN HIM! Burn him like he dared to burn James! Red, yes, beautiful burning hot red, make him feel the very same pain he had caused. Tossed him aside, pain got worse. Couldn't stand up anymore, there was red again, golden hair, bright blue eyes.

Thor, Thor was there. Thor caught him as he fell. Thor was holding him, he looked so scared. He had reassured Thor, the sentimental oaf. James, where was James? There, James was there above him, screaming at him, asking him what the hell he had done. He'd once again reminded James that while the mortal had been enhanced, he, Loki of Asgard was made of tougher stuff.

Things faded after that, the darkness had come. Everything faded to the nothingness of unconsciousness.

The chaotic cacophony of thoughts and memories that had been bombarding Loki suddenly quieted, leaving the god seemingly floating, with the itching sensation over his right arm and cheek steadily intensifying with each sluggish moment that passed.

Suddenly, Loki felt a jolt go through his whole body, and then another, and another. It was like everything around him was shaking. The oily darkness was too much, he didn't want to be here anymore. This wasn't real, none of this was real. He needed out, he wanted out right now. As more of these seemingly electric jolts passed through him, Loki started to tear at the darkness, clawing at it as he fought his way upward. It was like he was dragging himself through tar, and his arm was not just itching like it had been before, now it felt like someone was slowly pushing red hot needles into his skin, slowly, torturously. And Loki couldn't scream out because his throat still felt like there was something down it that was clogging everything.

Then somewhere up above him, there was a small, thin sliver of white. As Loki reached full awareness, he gasped as he felt his throat muscles constrict painfully around something hard and unyielding. Loki clawed his way up till the sliver of white light seemed to suddenly explode, everything blanching out into nothing, and then suddenly clearing to show a plain white ceiling up above him.

Loki gasped harshly and let out a garbled cry, every one of his senses assaulted from all sides as he came back to consciousness. There were alarms blaring shrilly, there were the sounds of people yelling, Loki gagged and struggled against what was down his throat. His right arm lay immovable at his side, alight with fresh agony, along with the right side of his face. At first Loki's eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head, but then strong, yet surprisingly gently hands were cradling his head, a deep, terrified voice calling out to him.

" Brother!" Loki jerked and tried to struggle against the hold that was firmly yet gently pushing him down against the soft surface he was laying in, until the voice sounded again, giving Loki something to finally focus on as he struggled to breath.

" Brother, look at me!"

Loki turned his eyes to where the voice was coming from, somewhere above him. As his green eyes focused, a familiar, deeply alarmed face finally came into view.

Thor.

Loki subconsciously relaxed as his confused eyes took in his slightly haggard looking sibling. Thor had his hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, and had on a simple black t-shirt. He looked like he hadn't slept, but the relief was palpable on his face despite the obvious fear and anxiety. But as he eyed Thor, Loki's green eyes, still somewhat murky with the lingering tendrils of unconsciousness began to look about frantically, searching for something, or someone rather. Loki let out another garbled noise of distress and reached out with the hand he could still move, grabbing onto Thor's shoulder as he breathed rapidly in panic.

Thor felt his heart swell at this as he spoke.

" Hey, hey! Brother look at me, look at me!" He ordered sternly as he held Loki's head steady, mindful of the gauze covering Loki's burned right cheek.

Loki fought past the panic he was in and focused his eyes on Thor as the Thunderer spoke.

" Brother you must calm down, everything is alright, the son of Barnes is alright and he is on his way down here. You have lain here wounded for two days. I was sitting here by your side when the Midgardian's machines that were monitoring your condition started to blare. The healers placed a device down your throat to help you breath because you were having difficulties after you took on the son of Barnes' injuries. Just relax for me brother, the healers are coming."

Thor words were of some comfort, but Loki wanted to see James, to see for himself that his mortal was alright. Then Thor was being pulled away from him, several unknown faces suddenly surrounding him, all of them clad in white garments and looking concerned yet focused as they started examining him. Loki forced himself to relax as he realized these were the Midgardian healers finally come to tend to him now that he had regained consciousness. They talked to each other, no doubt saying some healer's jargon about his current condition. The infernal wailing from the machines had thankfully ended.

One of the healers finally looked at him, making sure they were eye to eye as she spoke.

" Mr. Odinson, do you know where you are?"

Loki nodded, realizing that this was Stark Tower.

" Okay good, now we had to put a tube down your throat to help you breath. I know that it's uncomfortable but bear with us, we're gonna take it out in a little bit. Just relax alright?"

Loki resisted the urge to just reach up and rip the damn thing out himself, but nodded unhappily at the woman. Loki tried his best to remain calm and still as he felt things, really sticky things being pulled off of him before the healers spoke to him again.

" Alright Mr. Odinson, I'm gonna take the breathing tube out, I want you to relax as much as possible."

Loki nodded and took a deep breath through his nostrils as the female healer reached for the tube that was sticking out of his mouth. Something about her put him at ease, and reminded him of the head healer of Asgard, Eir. Loki focused on controlling his breathing as the doctor looked him square in the eye and spoke.

" Alright, you're gonna have to help me here. When I tell you, I want you to cough." Loki gave a small nod. A few moments later, the doctor gave him the signal.

" Now Mr. Odinson."

Loki did as he was instructed and coughed, barely holding back the urge to gag as he felt something long and cylindrical being pulled out his throat. This feeling lasted for what seemed like hours, until finally, his airway was clear. Loki sucked in a deep breath, and immediately started to cough, wincing at the rawness he could feel.

" That's it Mr. Odinson, it's over now. Just lay back and breath. We'll get you some ice for your throat." The female reached out and gently placed her hand over his shoulder, smiling at him reassuringly.

Had this been any other time, Loki knew he would have bitten her head off and made her rue the day she ever set foot into this room. But right now he was too tired to care, and actually found her kind disposition to be soothing. He kept his face neutral and gave her a wordless nod in understanding. Loki was vaguely aware of someone looping some strange clear tube behind both his ears, leaving a hard bit resting on his upper lip, two little half tubes partially going into each nostril. It was a nasal cannula but Loki really couldn't care less, it wasn't uncomfortable or anything. The woman nodded and withdrew her hand, looking up at something and then smiling kindly as she stepped aside.

A familiar and much desired face came into the scope of Loki's now fully cognizant gaze. Bucky Barnes stared down at Loki, his face the picture of quiet joy, but blaring relief, his blue eyes slightly over bright, but a true smile spread across his lips as he took Loki in. Loki himself felt relief course through him as he took in his mortal lover, who bore no trace of the injuries that had nearly done him in. His seidr had worked. Loki smiled, ignoring the pain that shot through his right cheek at the movement and reached up toward Bucky with his uninjured left hand.

"Ja-Ja-m." Loki tried to speak, but his voice was shot had the moment, his raw vocal cords only managing a hoarse croak. Bucky shook his head and took Loki's outstretched hand into his own flesh and bone one, being mindful of the I.V. still attached to the back of his lover's pale appendage as he gripped in firmly. Bucky leaned in close.

" Hey, try not to talk yet, you've had that tube down your throat for two days now, just give yourself a second. I'm here." Loki swallowed painfully and nodded, squeezing Bucky'd hand tightly, but not enough to crack any bones. Bucky let out a shaky breath, his smile turning a little watery as he reached out with his bionic hand, the metal plates flaring lightly, and the machinery whirring softly as he spoke.

" You ever pull this kind of stunt on me again, I will kick your ass all the way to Asgard and back myself."

Loki just made a laughing noise without opening his lips, a signature smirk playing on his pale and slightly clammy face before he winced. There was another beat of silence before Bucky leaned down the rest of the way and pressed his lips to Loki's in a chaste kiss, one which Loki accepted and returned. Loki was about to deepen things when there was a familiar voice clearing his throat. Bucky and Loki reluctantly parted in time to see Thor standing a few feet away, with a slight redness to his cheeks and looking somewhat embarrassed as he shifted from foot to foot and ducked his head, but there was a smile on his face. Loki grumbled in annoyance while Bucky breathed out a laugh. Sensing that Thor wanted to be with his brother, Bucky leaned in for another kiss before he drew back.

" I'm gonna go for a little bit, tell everyone how you're doing." When an unhappy Loki parted his lips to perhaps make some garbled protests when Bucky silenced him by gently pressing his forehead to the newly conscious god's.

" He's been scared outta his mind these last two days. He's been here right beside you just like I have, he gets first dibs." Loki lay tense under Bucky's touch, a look of defiance in his now bright and alert green eyes. But when Bucky just smiled at him indulgently, Loki deflated with a huff and nodded, looking like he had just swallowed three lemons whole. Bucky chuckled as he drew back, but the smile left his face when he caught the way Loki winced. Instantly realizing that Loki was doing his best to keep the pain he was in from showing, Bucky leaned in again and spoke quietly so that only Loki could hear him.

" I'll tell the doctors that you're hurting, they'll do something for the pain." Loki sent Bucky a quietly grateful look before he nodded. With reluctance, Bucky drew away, letting go of Loki's hand and turning to step over to Thor. At Thor's questioning look, Bucky sent Thor a quiet smile.

" I'd like nothing more than to stay but, you two need some time together. I'll come back later." Thor looked stunned for a moment before a look of deep gratitude spread across his face. And if Thor's eyes started to glisten a little, Bucky didn't comment as he smiled kindly and reached up to pat Thor lightly on the arm before he turned to give Loki a last look and a wave goodbye before he ducked out of the room.

As promised, Bucky went in search of the doctors to tell them that Loki was in pain before he headed to the waiting area where the rest of the Avenger's were waiting. When Thor had called up to the communal area informing them that Loki was waking up, Bucky had been the first to reach the elevator, but everyone else soon followed, even Clint. While Bucky had headed straight for Loki's room, Steve had suggested they all wait in the area for news. Things were different now, their stance on Loki had changed when they had seen the lengths he had gone to save Bucky's life and also heard of some of the heartbreak he had been made to suffer through in the past. They may not have been all buddy buddy about Loki, but now they all wanted to make sure that he was alright at least. And even though they wouldn't admit it out loud, they were all glad that after two days of seeing how worried Bucky and Thor had been, their Trickster had pulled through.

Funny, he was no longer just _the_ Trickster, but_ their_ Trickster.

Back in Loki's room, Thor had to stand back for a little while longer as the female doctor and a couple of nurses came in and milled about Loki, asking him about the level of pain he was in and addressing it accordingly. Before they left, one of the nurses handed Thor a little plastic cup filled with ice chips and a spoke, instructing him to give these to Loki. Once they were gone, Thor was immediately by Loki's side, a spoonful of ice at the ready. Loki looked startled for a moment before his expression grew annoyed and incredulous. Thor for his part just stared back, his eyes warm and a serene smile on his lips that Loki wanted to reach out and rip right off his brother's face. After another tense moment of stubborn will, Loki let out a put-upon huff and parted his lips. Thor practically beamed as he gently fed his brother his first spoonful of ice chips.

Loki swallowed down the frozen bits of water, and it was like heaven down his raw throat. Loki bit back the groan of pleasure that wanted release, instead his just let his eyes flutter a bit as he sighed. He opened his mouth for Thor to give him another spoonful, sending the Thunderer a quietly grateful look. Thor just kept smiling softly as he fed his brother the ice chips. They stayed silent as Loki had finished the entire cup, and then Thor spoke.

" Does your throat feel better now?" Loki swallowed a few times experimentally, pleased to feel that while his throat was still a little raw, it no longer felt like he had a cactus lodged in it. Taking in a deep breath, Loki spoke hoarsely.

" It is... well enough." Thor nodded, before Loki pinned him with a look.

" So now you know about... about James and I." Thor grew sober at that, nodding.

" Yes brother, your actions after the son of Barnes was injured made the nature of your relationship starkly clear." Then with a sigh, Thor turned pained eyes on his brother and leaned in close. He made sure Loki was looking at him as he spoke.

" Brother, you need not have hidden what you have with James from me." Thor watched chagrined as Loki's eyes hardened into two ice orbs of jade, filled with old anger and hurt as the younger brother glared accusingly at the elder and spoke.

" You took away Sigyn." Loki said softly, his voice a croaky whisper, laced with centuries worth of untold pain. In an instant Thor ducked his head, his insides turning ice-cold at the mention of the person besides his brother his idiotic cruelty had ruined. Fighting back the tears that gathered in his eyes, Thor reached out and grasped Loki's unburned hand tightly between his own, ignoring the way Loki flinched a little and tried to pull away. Thor held firm and met Loki's hardened gaze full on as he spoke.

" I know I did you wrong regarding her brother. She was your first love and I ruined that all because I wanted to play a prank on you. But Loki, you must know that I am not that same cruel and stupid boy that I was then." Loki snorted, and looked away. Taking a deep breath to steady his many raging emotions, the most prominent being shame and remorse, Thor spoke.

" Brother please, look at me." Loki stubbornly refused, so Thor reached out with one of his hands cupped Loki's unburned cheek.

" Please?" The soft plea finally had Loki turned back to meet Thor's over-bright gaze, and it was telling how he allowed Thor's touch to remain over his uninjured cheek instead of snarling like one would expect him to. Loki's eyes remained hard as he waited for Thor to speak. Taking another deep breath, Thor spoke.

" Long ago I offered you an apology for what happened with Sigyn, it was the first thing I did when I was allowed to see you after my punishment was over." Thor smiled without humor.

" It was a piss-poor apology, and I just wanted you to start talking to me. I never really thought about just how badly I hurt you. How badly I still kept hurting you, and how I allowed others to do the same. That does not excuse you from the choices you made, but for these last few days I have had much time to think and worry, and I realize that while your choices were your own, I hold a great deal of responsibility for why you felt you needed to make those choices. Brother, I say this to you now with all my heart. I am... truly and deeply sorry for the way I disregarded your feelings, for hurting you by turning the love you felt for Sigyn into a joke, and for involving her as I did in the first place. I humbly ask for your forgiveness Loki, can you forgive me brother, for all this hurt, and the many other hurts I carelessly caused you in the past?"

Loki was completely silent as he stared at Thor, seemingly uncomprehending what he had just heard. The hardness had left Loki's eyes, leaving them a swirling, silvery green, and glistening with a telltale sheen. Thor remain silent, his expression hopeful, so painfully hopeful as he watched Loki blinked his eyes rapidly and nod, swallowing thickly and licking his suddenly dried lips before he nodded wordlessly. Swallowing one final time, Loki spoke.

" I-I forgive you... Brother." Loki felt triumph in that he had kept his voice steady. Thor bowed his head in relief and needed a second to get his emotions under control. He squeezed Loki's hand firmly, yet not enough to disturb the I.V. Thor finally looked up several moments later, not hiding the few tears that were falling down his face. Thor parted his lips, most likely to say thank you, but Loki was having none of it as he expertly cut Thor off.

" You're still an oaf, there will never be enough centuries to change that." He said, perfectly dead-pan, but his voice croaked slightly, and it had nothing to do with the rawness left from the breathing tube.

Thor let out a loud laugh, that ended on a watery note before he stood up and leaned over. He let go of Loki's hand so that he could carefully wrap his arms around his brother as best as he could, very mindful of Loki's still healing injuries as he buried his face into the crook of Loki's neck on his uninjured side. Loki rolled his eyes dramatically but did not grow tense at the contact, carefully pulling his uninjured arm from under Thor and looping it over the Thunderer's well-built shoulders to return the embrace. And if Loki felt something warm and salty come out the corner of his eye well, there was no one else in the room to see it, or his unheard of reciprocation of Thor's affections.

Several minutes later, Thor sat beside Loki, more or less composed while his brother sat with the head of the hospital bed propping him up. This was a moment of quiet to what had been a really eventful morning. It was Thor who finally broke the silence, a warm, if somewhat sad smile on his face.

" The son of Barnes loves you greatly Brother." Loki looked up, a bit startled before a knowing look spread across his face.

" Let me guess, while I lay unconscious you threatened James in your righteous brotherly anger with Mjolnir and he put you in your place?" Thor felt a blush creep up his neck, a sheepish little grin spreading across his face as he nodded.

" After you were brought into the healers' care, we all reconvened in a conference room where the son of Barnes explained how you had both been together for all these moons and showed us the warding crystal you gave him. After he had recounted how he had sought you out one night and your relationship started, Hawkeye made some snide comment about how submissive the son of Barnes must have been to you. He in turn countered by simply asking Hawkeye why he assumed that he was the submissive one. That got my blood boiling and I rose to defend your honor and threatened the son of Barnes. I accused him of defiling you, and I will tell you this much Loki, the son of Barnes, James, did not so much as flinch. He simply rose to his feet and got in my face. He said that he never forced you to do anything, and he threatened to do severe damage to my face in turn if I were to ever again say that he had defiled you." Loki felt his heart swell with pride for James, but looked annoyed as he sent Thor a flat look.

" Serves you right for thinking such things about him, or me for that matter." Thor nodded.

" I know, I'm sorry brother. But as I was saying, I was about to go at him again for daring to threaten me when he stepped right up to me and said Sigyn's name. Stopped me cold in my tracks." Thor let out a small sigh before continuing, a begrudging respect on his features.

" James told all of us that what you and he share is not just carnal pleasure, but something deep, something that matters greatly to you both. After that he just told me flat out that I was the last person who had any right to judge before he told me to shut up and stand aside." Loki sat up at that, letting Thor's words wash over him before he threw his head back and laughed in utter delight.

Thor didn't feel offended in the least that his brother was laughing at his expense, all he could do was sit and stare at the sight of Loki with true mirth lighting up his whole face. When Loki's laugh had tapered off into quiet chuckles, Thor spoke in all seriousness.

" James then left to be with you, while I was left to explain myself to our teammates. I hope you do not mind that I shared our past with them, but after I recounted the take of my horridness and the consequences my actions had on you, they were none very pleased with me." Loki had to shake his head in disbelief at this.

" Really, you're friends were displeased with you because of what you did to me? I would think that they would have been applauding my misery."

The bitterness and resentment that laced these words made Thor feel sick to his stomach as he shook his head and reached out to lightly grip Loki's wrists.

" No brother, they were truly appalled by what I revealed to them. Even Barton looked at me in anger."

" Now I know your lying. They care not for me, I tried to take over their realm, I nearly killed their friend the son of Coul, and brought down chaos and destruction over this city. They hate me and-" Loki was about to list a few more reasons why the Midgardians hated his guts when Thor cut him off.

" No they don't brother. They may have before but everything's changed now. It's not just that you and James are together, but it's also that you saved not just James' life after he got injured three days ago, nearly at the cost of your own, but that before that, when Doom was attacking, you shielded everyone, not just James, but everyone without being ordered to do so. You protected the team willingly. They are starting to realize that you have changed a great deal from who you were when they first met you, and they are all concerned about you. When I called upstairs to inform them that you were waking up, they all came, not just James." Loki still refused to believe.

" I will not be pitied by anyone Thor, least of all them." Thor just frowned sadly.

" They do not pity you brother, they grew angry at me for the way I had treated you. Me telling them about Sigyn made then all see you in a different light, that and the images of you and James we all saw." This caught Loki's interest immediately.

" What images?" Feeling guilt bubble up inside him, Thor sent Loki and apologetic look as he explained.

" Loki, James revealed to Steve Rogers that you and he would secretly meet up with each other in different parts of the tower after you discovered that you could teleport within the unrestricted areas. The Man of Iron them asked his invisible ceiling voice to conjure up images of some of these meetings."

" You did what?" Loki asked flatly, feeling his face heat up with anger and embarrassment, but Thor squeezed Loki's wrist.

" Brother, the ceiling voice, Sir JARVIS, he took great care to not show any of your truly intimate moments together. All we saw started with the first fight that you and James staged and what happened when you met up in secret afterwards. Sir JARVIS only allowed us to see at most, the two of you kissing and simply being in each other's company, and also every feigned confrontation between you." Loki grumbled quietly, still looking all kinds of pissed. Thor did his best to placate his irate sibling.

" Loki, you already know that this tower is under Sir JARVIS' constant watch. He is like Heimdall. He never showed us anything you did behind closed doors, only what he caught in communal areas of the tower and nothing more. We just wanted to see for ourselves how the relationship between you and James progressed from that first night he told us about, to the here and now where you were willing to lay down your life for him. I am sorry if this has offended you brother, but the Midgardians, and I needed to know. I'm sorry Loki." Loki felt some of his anger dissipate at seeing how close to tears Thor had become. But he was still deeply annoyed as he spoke.

" Alright, you all saw, now you are going to tell me everything you saw, and I want full details. When I am well again, I shall confront Sir. JARVIS myself." Thor nodded.

" Alright brother, I shall start at the beginning." Loki settled back into the pillow under his head, gazing at Thor with steely green eyes as he listened to the blond recount what had been played on the security cam reel by JARVIS.

Meanwhile, down the hallway in the waiting room, the rest of the Avengers were all lounging about. Some had paper cups of coffee in hand, other simply sitting and looking up at the screen of the flatscreen that hug in the corner. At the moment the new was on, and what was being shown had Tony smirking, while other's looked on in interest. It was found footage of Doom's attack from two days ago, showing all of them in action, but most of all it was focused on Loki and what he had done, from shielding everyone to saving Bucky's life. The underlying headline simply read " Loki: Redemption and Romance?"

" Looks like Reindeer Games and Partial Colossus here are becoming quite the media darlings." Bucky bit back a groan as he too saw how the news feed was focused on the way Loki had laid one on him in order to heal his injuries. Media attention was the last thing he and Loki wanted. But it couldn't be helped, they had fought Doom, and Loki had acted without giving a damn if the rest of the world had seen.

Bucky felt annoyance but shook his head as he took a sip of coffee. Steve seeming to sense his friend's quiet unhappiness reached over and clasped Bucky's metal encased shoulder for a moment before letting go.

" Hey Buck, don't worry, it'll blow over." Then Clint piped up.

" Of course it will, but right now you won't be able to set foot outside this tower without being mobbed." Bucky just looked at Clint strangely.

" Me and Loki can't get mobbed, we've never been outside this tower together outside of battles. Loki can't set foot outside the tower aside from when he's with us when there's a threat, if he does than he gets dragged back to Asgard. That's what the rules are."

The words were bad enough, but the matter-of-fact way that Bucky said them had everyone feeling guilty now. Sure, in the beginning when Loki had first come to the tower, keeping him inside had been necessary to make sure that he didn't pull a fast one and cause more of his special brand of chaos. But that had been nearly ten months ago, and thus far Loki had adhered to the rules perfectly, even when he showed them that he could teleport, he stayed within the tower and in the unrestricted areas. JARVIS' orders had been clear, that if Loki had so much as opened a window, he would raise the alarm. But there had been no such incident, and all the times the window was opened, they all now knew that it had been Bucky who had opened it, not Loki.

Worse still, they were starting to realize that the rules they had placed over Loki had caused a serious hinderance to his and Bucky's relationship. It hit them all that sure, Loki and Bucky had been together these last five and a half months inside the tower, but they had never really been able to go out and do things together like other couples, especially in a city like New York where the possibilities were endless.

Bucky, ever sharply perceptive, immediately caught on to the unhappy faces of his teammates, his blue eyes darting from face to face and taking in the guilty looks on everyone, except Natasha, she just looked as calm and collected as ever. Feeling confused, Bucky spoke.

" Guys, what is it? Why do you all look like you did something wrong?" Steve just shook his head.

" It's nothing Buck, really, we just don't want either of you getting hounded the next time we all have to go out be it for battle, or for any of those public engagements the PR people insist we all go to." Bucky nodded, while everyone else sent Steve some veiled looks of gratitude for covering for them. The group fell into quiet conversation after that, much of it revolving around Bruce and what kind of aftercare plan he'd come up with for Loki once he was sprung from the medical wing.

About ten minutes later Thor came into the room. One look at the usually bright and cheerful Thunderer's flushed and sheepish looking face was enough for all of them to know that Thor had just been thoroughly castigated. Thor plopped down in the empty chair next to Bruce and let out a small groan as he swiped a hand down his face. It was Tony who broke the silence.

" I take it Rock of Ages read you the riot act about something?" Thor nodded wordlessly before he began to explain.

" My brother was most displeased when I revealed to him that we have all watched footage of he and James secretly meeting within the tower. My explanation that Sir Jarvis took great care not to show us anything to intimate did little to lessen my brother's glare." Thor then sighed and looked around the room.

" He is annoyed with all of us, but thankfully understanding that given the circumstances of how his and James' relationship was revealed, that we would all naturally be curious." Bucky gave a small nod before he rose to his feet.

" I'm gonna go stay with him." He said simply as he started making his way out the door. Steve called after him.

" Hey Bucky?" Bucky paused and turned to Steve.

" Yeah Steve?"

" Could you tell him we're glad he pulled through." Steve paused to look over at the others, Tony and Bruce nodding while Clint gave a shrug of nonchalance, Natasha just tilted her head and remaining silent.

The lack of anyone saying anything negative did not go unnoticed by Bucky, who kept silent even though he felt a cautious hope spring up in his chest as he nodded.

" Okay. I'll tell him." Then he was out the door and down the hallway back to Loki's room.

This left the rest of the team in a bit of an awkward silence after that, Thor looking around the room in gratitude, while Clint stared down at his cup of coffee, a serious look on his face as he went deep in thought. Tony turned his attention back to the newsfeed on the TV with an amused look on his face. Steve sat back down on across from Bruce and the pair started a conversation about burn aftercare, bringing Thor into it and asking about Loki's healing capabilities. Natasha stood leaning by the wall, with her light green eyes turned to the empty doorway that Bucky had just exited through, a contemplative look on her face.

Later that afternoon...

" They may have improved hospital food since me and Steve's time, doesn't mean it tastes any better." Bucky grimaced as the nurse took the more or less empty tray away, leaving him with a sour faced Loki. Loki looked up at Bucky with his bright green eyes sparking in annoyance as he spoke.

" Indeed, even the simple broth they serve in the palace's healing chambers back in Asgard is a true feast compared to what I just forced myself to ingest." From where he was sitting by the hospital bead, Bucky found himself smiling fondly at the look of disgust that spread across his lover's face. Even with a patch of wide gauze strapped over his right cheek and looking a little worn after having insisted on eating his lunch by himself with his ininjured hand, Bucky couldn't help but admire Loki's pale features as the god sat propped up by the hospital bed with his wrapped arm held immobile at his side.. Still smiling, Bucky leaned in and pressed his lips to the corner of Loki's mouth. At first Loki stubbornly refused to acknowledge Bucky's affection, not responding at all. But then with a small huff, Loki turned his head so that he could press his own lips to Bucky's. Bucky made a pleased noise in the back of his throat as he parted his lips to deepen the kiss, Loki responding in kind. When they drew back several long moments later, Loki sighed as Bucky nuzzled at his temple and unburned cheekbone. Reaching up with his unburned hand, Loki ran his fingers along the smooth, puzzle-like surface of Bucky's bionic arm, coming to lightly grip the metallic bicep as he spoke.

" Am I hideous?" Bucky pulled back and stared at his lover. He could see that beneath the veneer of joking, Loki's question had a small grain of actually wanting to know what Bucky thought of his now burnt face. Deflating instantly, Bucky leaned back in and growled against Loki's temple with a smile on his lips.

" Yes, very, so hideous in fact that when you get out of here I an going to ravish every single part of you that's got the wounds that should be on me, and make it so that all you're gonna be able to do is moan my name."

Loki barely suppressed the shiver that crept up his spine at these words of promise, but he also felt his heart swell at Bucky's way of casually reassuring him that, no, no he wasn't hideous.

" Besides, once you've rested some more and your magic comes back to full strength, you'll be able to heal yourself completely right?" Loki nodded.

" Correct, once my seidr returned in full I can heal the burns and bruises so that they won't even scar." Loki was a bit confused when Bucky seemed to frown for a second. At his questioning look, Bucky replied, his blue eyes racking over Loki, the hunger in them clear.

" I wouldn't mind you having a few scars here and there." Loki quirked one of his onyx eyebrows.

" Why pray tell would I want raised marks on my skin that are a constant reminder of misadventures and near death experiences. In Asgard, scars are seen as badges of honor, but I've never been one for honor now have I?" Bucky grinned before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Loki's lips before he spoke.

" Yeah I know, but my reasons have nothing to do with honor, they are entirely self-serving." Loki looked intrigued.

" Oh?" Bucky grinned coyly before he leaned over to speak into Loki's ear.

" You really like driving me wild by using that very talented mouth over the place where my flesh meets my metal arm, especially in the places where the scarring is really bad. You turned something that made me feel ugly and even more inhuman into something good, really good. Besides that, you just like turning me into an incoherent puddle. Just think of all that your missing out on, all that potential."

Loki let out a breathless laugh at this, loving the silvery quality to his lover's argument. Still grinning, Loki spoke.

" You raise a very convincing argument James, I shall definitely consider it, but not with the wounds I am healing from at the moment. I would rather we forgot these burns and how I ended up with them." The smile left Bucky's face at these words, memories of how said burn wounds ended up on Loki assaulting his mind. Nodding wordlessly in agreement, Bucky pressed a kiss behind Loki's ear before he drew back and retook his seat beside Loki's bed. The couple tapered off into quiet conversation after that. Over the course of it, Loki told Bucky that he wasn't cross with him for being the catalyst that forced Thor to reveal Sigyn and what had happened, and that he was in fact quite pleased that his lover had nipped Thor's righteous anger right in the bud. It would be nearly half an hour before someone else came into their midst.

That someone was one Steve Rogers, Captain America himself. Looking hesitant and nothing like his confident super-hero persona, Steve knocked on the door to Loki's room, the norse god and his best friend looking up at the sound.

" Hey Steve."Bucky got up from his seat and stepped across the room to greet his friend.

" Hey guys." Steve greeted back warmly as he gripped Bucky's shoulder and nodded to Loki, who was already eying him suspiciously. Bucky immediately caught onto this.

" What brings you here Steve?" Bucky asked casually as he and Steve made there way over to Loki.

" Oh, nothing really, I just figured I'd see how you guys are doing." Bucky nodded, but Loki didn't hide the suspicion from his features as he spoke.

" As you can see, both still alive Captain, James fortunately for you, I on the other hand, not so much." Steve shook his head, his handsome face saddening and looking even a little guilty. Bucky winced but didn't say anything, although he subtly sent Loki a silent plea to give Steve a chance. Loki caught the look and just gave Bucky a blank look in return. Both looked to Steve when the super-soldier spoke.

" Loki I didn't come here to pick a fight, but we really need to talk." Loki's eyes hardened, but he nodded mutely. Steve smiled before he turned to Bucky, but before he could say anything Bucky just shook his head.

" I'll leave you two for a bit." He said before he stepped over to Loki and cupped his uninjured cheek. Loki completely ignored Steve and turned to Bucky, leaning into the touch and gazing up at his lover with warmth in his green eyes. Bucky smiled back before he nodded and turned away, letting his hand drop as he said his goodbyes to Steve and left the room, leaving the former enemies and now reluctant teammates alone with each other.

Naturally, an awkward silence fell over the pair as Loki sat propped up in his bed while Steve stood beside the railing. Finally, it was Loki who broke the silence.

" Well have a seat and start talking Captain." Steve blinked, obviously thrown for a loop when Loki had offered him a seat instead of biting his head off right from the get go.

" Thank you." Steve said politely as he sat down in the chair Bucky had been occupying, Loki's green eyes on him like a hawk. There was another moment of awkward silence before Steve spoke.

" First of all um... how are you feeling?" Loki leaned back against the pillowed behind him an gave a small shrug with his uninjured shoulder.

" I am well enough, the pain is but a dull throb that I can mostly ignore, small price to pay. But it is not to ask after my well-being that has brought you before me, is it Steve Rogers?" Steve fidgeted but then shook his head, meeting Loki's scrutinizing gaze as he spoke earnestly.

" No Loki, I really did want to ask you how you were doing since you only woke up just this morning. But you're right, I also wanted to talk to you about everything else that's happened, that's been happening." Steve licked his suddenly dry lips before he continued.

" Thor told us about the horrible thing that happened with you and Sigyn. I just wanted to start by saying that I'm sorry you had to go through that." Normally, Loki would have used that sharp silver tongue of his to turn the good Captain into minced meat, but something in Steve's blue eyes, that true sincerity gave Loki pause. With a small huff, Loki shook his head.

" What good will sorry do to change the past? I let someone in who cared not at all for me and my feelings."

" But Bucky cares, and you care about him." Loki's eyes flashed while a smirk curled his lips.

" Does it burn you that your best friend loves the would be conqueror of your realm, your enemy?" Steve let out a small sigh and shook his head.

" You're not my enemy, not any more at least. I can't call you my enemy when you saved my life, and my best friend's." Then Steve leaned in closer.

" Look Loki, I'm not going to deny it, you are the last person I ever wanted to see Bucky with. When I thought you guys couldn't stand each other, I'll admit that I was glad, because Bucky's still recovering from everything that Hydra put him through and you are the god of mischief and lies, _the _master manipulator. The first thing that came into my mind was that you had seduced him somehow, that you were just playing some twisted game with him." Loki could feel his hackles rising at this, but felt himself deflate because in all honesty, his reputation did not give him much credence as someone who took the feelings of another person into consideration.

" I don't blame you for having such thoughts. "Loki said quietly. Steve nodded, before a smile spread across his face.

" But you and him proved me wrong. I'll admit, I didn't believe Bucky when he said that you never cast any kind of spell on him, but then he showed us that warding crystal he wears under one of the panels of his arm and started telling us about how you never came near him, that he was the one who sought you out, well, I had to put the anger and disbelief aside and be objective about things." Then Steve let out a small chuckle.

" The fact that Bucky put Thor in his place was pretty convincing as well that he's very serious about you." To Steve's silent delight and also relief, he saw Loki turn his head a bit to hide the tiny smile that was playing across his lips at the mention of the epic face-off between his brother and his lover. Steve sobered a bit as he remembered the other events that had happened that day.

" Loki?" Loki turned back to meet Steve's clear blue eyes.

" I'm sorry."

" For what?" Loki asked, a confused frown marring his brow. Steve shrugged and looked down for a moment before he gave a self-depricating chuckle.

" For a lot of things, for everything that happened to you to make you who you were when you and I first met. I won't apologize for the hard time me and everyone have given you when you first came here all those months ago because you earned all that. I am sorry for other things though, like not really giving you a chance, for not seeing that at some point the hostility needed to end." Loki wanted nothing more than to grimace and maybe sneer at Steve's sentimental words, but something about the apologetic look on Steve's face gave him pause. Frowning again, Loki spoke.

" I am your culprit, I did many horrible things against you and your kind." Steve cut in here.

" But you got a second chance and you haven't done anything since you've been here. Sure, you got into arguments with me and the others constantly, sometimes you started it, sometimes we did, but after we all sat down and really thought about it over these last few days, we realized that you've been sticking to the program, even though I know full well that you are more than capable of finding loopholes when it comes to magic and escaping things. You haven't broken any of the rules that we placed on you. I have some idea as to why, but I want to hear it straight from you. Why didn't you escape? You could have found a way around your father's magic, you could have just teleported out of this tower, the consequences be damned. So why did you stay?" Steve pinned Loki with his bright blue eyes, his expression holding no room for argument. Steve wanted an answer and he was going to get it.

" First of all, Odin is not my father, get that one thing clear at least." Loki said firmly, his eyes flashing with untold anger and disillusion at the mere mention of the All-Father.

" Okay, sorry." Steve said, accepting that Odin was a touchy subject, but he listened on intently as Loki spoke.

" You should know that ironically, what you say is true. In the first few months that I found myself living in this tower with all of you, I was contemplating all the possible ways I could escape this tower, and this infernal realm entirely. Day in and day out, I was searching, subtly of course, for any way out. Would it chill you to you very core to know that I actually found a viable way?" Steve's eyes widened at this revelation as he leaned back slightly in his seat.

" How, when?" Steve asked once his voice returned to him. Loki stayed silent, his face held neutral and unreadable, the moments ticked by until suddenly, the corner of Loki's lip twitched, then it twitched again. In an instant, Steve released the breath he was holding with a light groan as he buried his face in his hand.

" Aw you asshole." Steve said through his fingers because he had just been had by the norse god of Mischief. But he looked up when he heard Loki's silvery chuckles. Grumbling, Steve sat up and pointed an unforgiving finger Loki.

" Not okay man, not okay at all." Loki let out one final chuckle before he sighed and spoke.

" In all honesty, I wish I had actually found a loophole, but Odin did not take any chances. My magic is bound to this realm and I cannot leave unless the All-Father decrees otherwise or I break the rules and the Bifrost claims me and transports me straight to the Asgardian dungeons. While you all set down your rules and made it so that I cannot leave the tower, it would not do me any difference because Midgard is where I am to be for now." Loki pinned Steve with a look.

" A few moons into this punishment and reparations to your realm, I had resigned myself to all the hostility, both inside and outside of this tower. The outside I could care less, but inside, with nothing but glares and hostile words, I will admit that it did start to grate on me a little. Other than Thor, not a single one of you ever talked to me civilly, always yelling or hissing, insulting or demanding to run your Midgardian tests on me. You had very little regard for me, and the feeling was mutual. And then one day it all changed." Steve instantly knew what it was that had changed, because he had been the one to bring it, or rather him.

" I found Bucky and I brought him here." He said knowingly. Loki nodded. Steve wisely chose not to say anything as he watched the fond look that flitted across Loki's face before he carefully schooled his features and spoke.

" I must admit that when first I saw him I was quite, unimpressed. He was so frail looking, the sickness he had come in with turning him pale and worn. But after we were all told of who he was and what he had been through, I was intrigued. He was another man out of time much like you yourself." Steve nodded mutely, his mind turning to the memories of Bucky, and the mild infection he had had to fight off after he came to the tower. Thankfully he had made a full recovery.

" I suppose James caught my interest that first day, after he had recovered from his illness where you had gone about introducing him to everyone, pointedly introducing me from a distance, with Thor standing close by." Steve had the courtesy to look down in embarrassment for a moment but then he looked up.

" Hey, you come with your own warning label."

" Indeed I do."

" But all the warnings in the world can't stop feelings where feelings spring up." Loki tilted his head.

" It was refreshing, to have someone look at me without hatred or disgust, just curiosity. But as you know from James, I sought to avoid any more conflict than was necessary and kept my distance. At first he was a pleasant distraction, quiet yet attractive, especially once his illness had passed. I would see him from afar and sometimes catch him doing the same, but never approaching. I just never expected for James Buchanan Barnes to suddenly be sitting in the corner of my bedroom one night after I had partaken in a late night bathing" Loki then turned his mirth-filled eyes to a seriously blushing Steve.

" You of course know the rest from James."

" Y-Yeah, he kept it general but we got the idea." Loki allowed himself a small quirk of his lips before he grew serious.

" You know I gave Thor a good trouncing for all of you taking the liberty of watching some of the secret meetings that James and I shared."

" Yeah I know, and I'm sorry, Tony just up and asked Jarvis to show us. I should have stopped him. We had no right to pry like that." Loki dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

" James explained to me that Sir Jarvis was careful to only show you all the many feigned altercations and some semi-intimate moments. Sir Jarvis cannot be faulted for obeying when his maker asks something of him." Loki's eyes then grew hard.

" However, you should inform Stark that before he ever does this again, he should remember that while I am bound by oath and the threat of imprisonment not to harm him, James is most certainly not. He and I can come up with some rather creative forms of retribution should our private matters be breached again."

Steve felt a cold sensation creep up his neck at the Trickster's words, remembering how he had faced off against Natasha in that cell during the invasion, and just how terrifying he was, an insanity clear in his gaze. Now that insanity was gone, there was only clarity, and it was by far more scary. Quickly shaking it off, Steve spoke.

" I'll be sure to let Tony know." Then Steve got to the heart of what he wanted to say.

" What you did, not just for Bucky but for all of us, it-" Loki cut him off, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

" It changes nothing."

" It changes a whole lot." Steve shot back, now pinning Loki with a hard look of his own.

" This doesn't mean we're all going to suddenly be friends, but you've been in a relationship with my best friend for months now, and you haven't hurt him in any way, Hell you nearly killed yourself in order to save his life. What you did is something I didn't think you were capable of, and then Thor tells us about some of the crap you went through and it shook everything I thought I knew about you. I can't speak for everyone else, but it all made me take a long hard look at things and realize that there has to be some changes." Loki kept his face guarded as he eyed the Captain.

" What changes Steve Rogers?" Steve met Loki's green eyes.

" Even though I am still a bit apprehensive, I won't interfere in your relationship." Loki gave a half snort.

" One of the reasons besides the obvious for why James wanted to keep our relationship a secret was because he feared that you would separate us." Steve reeled at this.

" What?"

" It is the truth. I would not have given any of you and your judgements a second glance, but James worried about what you would all think, especially you Steve Rogers."

Steve sat stunned, a stricken look across his handsome features. Any other time, Loki would have basked in causing such misery, but he found nothing funny about this matter.

" Come now Rogers, after all those decades at the hands of Hydra, being treated as nothing but a weapon and having his sense of self, his identity and his very mind stolen from him repeatedly, can you truly blame him for fearing that what he and I have together would be taken from him as well?" Steve shook his head.

" We'd never do that."

" Oh I know you wouldn't, but since when have a few reassurances every undone decades worth of conditioning?" At Loki's challenging look, Steve averted his gaze and nodded unhappily. Then with a heavy sigh, Steve looked back up to meet Loki's gaze as he spoke.

" I'll talk to him. But getting back to you, as far as changes go, I'm gonna talk to Tony about maybe letting up on some of the rules you've been under, change a few things around seeing as to how you actually have been following them. Can't make any guarantees though."

" That is acceptable." Steve then sent Loki a slightly sheepish but warm smile.

" And for me personally, I'll give you a chance for Bucky's sake." Then the smile left Steve's face, a dead serious expression taking hold as he looked Loki square in the eye.

" If you hurt him in any way, shape, or form, I will end you and bury you somewhere so deep no one will ever find you, plain and simple." Steve then held out his hand to the Trickster, the ghost of a smile playing on his face. Loki allowed the corner of his lip to curl ever so slightly as he reached out with his uninjured hand to lightly grip the mortal Captain's forearm in a traditional warriors grasp.

" Fair enough Steve Rogers, and you have my sincere word, no lies or tricks, that I will do all in my power to ensure only James' happiness." Steve nodded as he and Loki let go.

" Good." There was a beat of surprisingly comfortable silence before a thought suddenly struck Steve. He looked to Loki questioningly as he spoke.

" Hey Loki, I gotta ask, what kind of shovel talk can Bucky expect from Thor?" Loki looked confused for a moment.

" Shovel talk?"

" Oh, yeah, Shovel talk is what I just gave you, the whole tradition of giving a warning to a romantic partner of someone who's close to you of what you'll do if that person runs amok of things." Loki nodded in understanding.

" Ah, I see. Well then, I shall have to warm James."

" Why? What for? Thor's not going to smash my best friend with that giant electrified hammer of his, is he?" Loki just shrugged and looked non-pulsed in the face of Steve burgeoning concern.

" While I have every confidence that James can more than hold his own against my overzealously protective, hammer wielding, formerly eager war-mongerer of an elder brother, I make no guarantees that this tower will remain as intact as you would all like for it to."

Steve just gaped before he was hightailing it out of Loki's room, the Trickster's genuinely tickled laughter following him as he made a breakneck run down the hall to the elevator. As he all but dove into the lift and urgently asked Jarvis to take him up to the communal area as fast as possible, Steve could here the distant sounds of thunder rumbling, and he knew full well it had nothing to do with the actual weather over New York, the forecast of which had been nothing but bright, cloudless skies during a perfect spring day.

" Damn over-dramatic norse gods." Steve said under his breath as he watched the floor numbers increase on the small screen above the elevator doors. The in the safely of the elevator, Steve's face broke into a wide grin, a chuckle escaping him before he could stop himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Marvel Universe or Disney, The Amazing Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, or anyone else involved with the movies or comics are the ones who do. I am not making any profits from this writing, it is all for the purposes of fun and creative writing.

Author's note: Sorry if anything seems OOC, just wrote what was in my head because I like this pairing.

Chapter 4

" Come to finish me off archer?"

From where he sat propped up by his hospital bed, Loki turned his green eyes to gaze at the brown haired and blue-eyed man currently standing in the threshold on his hospital room.

Clint Barton stood before Loki, clad in a dark blue hoodie over jeans, his hands in his pockets and his jaw lightly clenched as he stared back at Loki in all seriousness. A silent impasse stretched out between the reluctant team mates, neither making a move. Then without saying a word, Clint stepped over the threshold and slowly walked across the room, pulling up a chair and taking a seat in it beside Loki's bed, never once breaking eye contact with the recovering God of Mischief. Loki didn't give much of an outward reaction to this unexpected move by the one Avenger who had the most reason to despise him.

There wasn't really anything stopping Barton from carrying out some damage, it was the middle of the night, Loki had sent Bucky and Thor away to sleep, Thor's shovel Talk with Bucky having surprisingly gone well, with only two windows blown out much to Tony's outrage. Things had gone back to normal, or as normal as they could have been among their select group. Today had been Loki's first day of using his slowly returning seidr to heal the damage he had taken on from Bucky. He had started with the burn to his cheek, healing it enough so that it no longer needed to be covered in gauze, looking more like a singe now than the angry, seared wound it had been. Loki's arm would need the most time though, still wrapped in thick gauze and held in a sling to keep it as immobile as possible. Now he was alone in his room with an unexpected visitor standing in the doorway.

The god and the archer continued to stare at each other, bright green eyes meeting those of steely blue. It was Hawkeye who finally broke the silence.

" Ten months ago I would have relished the idea of ending you and sending you skinny pale ass to whatever hell Asgardians go to, now I just wanna talk." Loki blinked and then nodded wordlessly in acceptance, keeping the surprise he was feeling from showing on his face.

" I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you for what you did to me personally." Barton said with all seriousness.

" If that be the case, I shall accept it. I did not expect anything from you Clint Barton, except perhaps your undying hatred." Clint glowered as he leaned forward in his chair.

" You expected correctly." He growled, before he seemed to deflate and leaned back in his chair, shaking his head.

" Except I don't hate you as much as before." Loki just blinked, the only outward sign that he was stunned to his very core. Blinking again, Loki finally spoke.

" May I ask what had brought about this change of heart?" Clint just shrugged.

" You almost dying to save Barnes, then Thor telling us about Sigyn, and everything we saw from JARVIS's video feed." Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as with a light groan he turned more onto his side so that he could face Clint properly. With his bright green eyes all but boring into the archer, Loki spoke.

" So then, what is your opinion of me now Bartonson?" Clint had to fight tooth an nail to meet Loki's deeply intimidating gaze head on, but he was proud of himself for not looking away as he spoke, noticing the bitterness that had tinted Loki's words.

" Complicated." Clint said simply. Then he leaned forward and pinned Loki with an intense look of his own.

" Even before you got hit with that spell that let all of us see you as a frost giant, I always thought you were made of ice. No soul, not heart, nothing but frost and pure evil. " Loki clenched his jaw, but nodded wordlessly in understanding.

" And now, after everything that's happened, everything we all witnessed, I come to find out that all of that is wrong, that you're not so evil. That somehow you're actually capable of love. Well that just pisses me off." Clint growled, his frustration clear in every line of his face. Loki's eyes flashed dangerously.

" Or I could just be using James as a means to an end, stringing him along and lulling the rest of you into a false sense of security, making you think that I have changed when I am plotting your demise?" Clint just snorted.

" No you're not." He said without a hint of doubt in his voice. " You wouldn't have looked so terrified when Barnes got hurt, and then risked your own life to save him if you were faking it. He was the only somebody in this whole tower who gave you a chance, the only one to seek you out without any hate. You love him, and now we all know it." Something dangerous sparked in Loki's eyes but he remained tellingly silent. He and Clint stared at each other in a silent impasse again before Loki seemed to deflate, and look so very weary and pale as he sank further into the pillows beneath him and spoke.

" I ask you again, why did you come here Clint Barton?" Clint leaned back in his seat tiredly as well as he answered.

" I came here to clear the air between us." At the questioning look in Loki's tired green eyes, Clint continued. " I would have gladly gone the rest of my life hating your guts and wishing you nothing but the most horrible crap that could ever happen to you happening, but now I just... I just can't keep doing it. It's too exhausting, and I don't want hate to eat me up like it ate you up and turned you into the villain who tried to take over this planet." Loki took a deep breath and sat up a little, meeting Clint's gaze with his own as he spoke.

" Where does that leave me standing in regards to you Clint Barton?" Clint sat up straighter and didn't break his gaze with the Trickster.

" We'll never be friends, a part of me will never forgive you for how you robbed me of my mind and made me do what I did, take the lives that I did. But I see now that you aren't the same man you were when you led the invasion. You've changed, and I know Barnes giving you a chance when none of us did had everything to do with that. You saved all of our lives when we were fighting against Doom, not just Barnes'. As far as where you stand with me, to be honest I'm at a crossroads. It could go either way. You keep on the path that you are one, you be good to Barnes and start acting like you are a part of this team, you'll be my ally. If you revert back to the guy Steve has to yell at to do something when we're in a fight for our lives, you screw things up with Barnes, and we, you and me" Clint said gesturing between himself and Loki. " We'll have even worse problems. I won't just settle for insults and punches, I will be reaching for the most lethal arrows I have." Then Clint huffed and allowed himself a small smile as he explained.

" It's not because me and Barnes are suddenly all buddy, buddy. To be honest the guy still creeps me out half the time. But somehow, like he made you better, you did the same for him. He's willing to fight for you, spoke more words and showed more personality these last few days than he has in all the months that he's been here since Steve brought him in." Then Clint let out one last sigh.

" You can either be my ally or you can be the guy I have to put up with because of the terms and conditions of your probation. It's up to you." Without taking his eyes off of Loki, Clint rose from his seat and stepped closer to the side of Loki's bed, looking Loki square in the eye as he finished.

" But as for right now, you aren't my enemy anymore." Loki was stunned into silence, although he kept his face perfectly neutral as he gazed at the Archer he had personally hurt so badly while he had tried to subjugate Midgard. Out of everything he ever anticipated happening to him while he was here serving out the rest of his punishment as per the Allfather's order, this sort of reconciliation with Clint Barton had never once come to mind. Yet, here it was happening before him. Licking his suddenly dry lips, Loki quickly composed himself and spoke.

" I hear your words, they are most unexpected, but not unwelcome. I make no promises for I am what I am. I shall... try to stay on the path I am on, and rest assured, hurting James is the very last thing I wish to do." Loki paused here, not really believing the words that came out his mouth even as he said them.

" And for what it is worth, I am sorry for what transpired between us and I shall try to be you ally, not really because I have any desire to be you friend either, but because all of this conflict between me and all of you is starting to feel tiresome even to me. And just so you know, I have no plans on "screwing" things up with James as you so put it. And as for what you said about forgiveness, I shall not ask you to forgive me entirely. I simply ask you Clint Barton of Midgard, to forgive me enough not because I deserve it, but for yourself, because you deserve peace." ( Got this quote and forgiveness and peace from Facebook, don't know who said it first but giving credit where it is do, thank you, whoever you are!).

Clint's face remained as controlled as ever, but from the subtle way his jaw clenched and his eyes brightened a bit, Loki could tell that his words had resonated. There was a long beat of silence before Clint finally looked away, clearing his throat lightly and swallowing a few times before he nodded his head rapidly and looked back up.

" Yeah okay." He said quickly before he took a deep breath.

" It's getting late, I should let you rest. I'll see you later." With that, Clint turned and started to quickly leave the room. But just as he was about to step over the threshold, he paused when Loki called out to him.

" Clint Barton." Clint turned to see Loki looking at him with green eyes no longer so guarded, but almost hopeful.

" Thank you." The Asgardian said simply.

Clint just stared for a moment before he nodded wordlessly and then ducked out of the room, disappearing down the hallway towards the elevator.

Loki sank down into the pillows beneath him, fully relaxing and allowing the exhaustion he was keeping at bay during the entire unexpected conversation with Barton to finally wash over him. As his eyelids grew heavy and slowly started to shutter his bright eyes, Loki allowed the corners of his lips to curve upwards into a small, fleeting smile before he let sleep finally claim him for the night.

Meanwhile, down the hallway, Clint had just stepped into the elevator with the door smoothly shutting behind him. As he turned around to face front, a familiar British accented voice sounded.

" Are you alright Agent Barton?" Jarvis asked from above.

Clint looked up with slightly over bright eyes as he allowed himself a small smile.

" Yeah Jarvis, I'm alright." He answered, his smile widening a little because he mean't it, he really did feel alright, like a giant weight had been lifted off of him after a really long time.

" Shall I take you to your floor?" Jarvis asked.

Clint was about to say yes, but then thought better of it.

" No Jarvis, I'd like to go to the twentieth floor instead."

" As you wish sir."

" Thanks."

As the elevator smoothly began moving up the tower and away from the medical floor, the smile stayed on Clint's face because the twentieth floor happened to belong to a certain red head who was always there to lend an ear when he needed it.

_Three days later... _

" I will incinerate every last strand of your precious golden hair from you head if you even dare to think of carrying me out of here you overgrown imbecile."

Bucky ducked is head to hide his smile as he watched Thor fuss over Loki as the younger brother prepared to finally leave the medical wing. With some of his newly restored seidr, Loki had conjured his usual Asgardian outfit, sans the right sleeve and metal adornments like the spaulder and gauntlet so that his injured arm would not be constricted. It lay in a simple sling against this chest, wrapped in fresh gauze. The ugly burn to Loki's right cheek was almost completely healed, with only a light, nearly faded bruise being the only remnant of it ever being there.

" Oh don't give me that look, it is my arm that is only damaged, not my feet." Loki said with a scowl at the kicked-puppy expression Thor was sending him. Then with a small huff, Loki reached out and gave Thor's well-built arm a quick but reassuring squeeze.

" I am well enough brother, my arm shall be healed in a few short days, you need not trouble yourself." Thor smiled sadly at Loki, relishing that the younger had initiated contact for once.

" I only wish to take care of you brother." Bucky smiled softly as he watched Loki try to keep the uncomfortableness Thor's words had induced from showing on his face. But Bucky knew Loki well enough to know that the mage was touched by his brother's words, he'd just sooner turn to dust than admit it. With a huff the mask ws back in place as Loki spoke.

" Oh I know that you do, but you're getting a bit stifling even by your own regular standards." Thor deflated and then nodded in acquiescence.

Loki finished getting ready with Thor, and Bucky hovering. Thor a bit more so while Bucky hung back. Once he was done with making himself look as presentable as possible, Loki made a swift b-line for the door.

" Hey wait up." Bucky said with a smile as he and Thor both hurried to catch up with Loki.

" Rather you two should keep up." Loki shot back as he looked over his shoulder and sent a veiled look of fondness towards his lover and his brother, both of whom had nearly become permanent fixtures in his room over the days following his awakening. Now it was early afternoon and the three of them were finally saying sayonara to the medical wing of Avenger's tower.

As the three of them stepped into the elevator, Thor asked Jarvis to take them up to the communal floor. At Loki's questioning look, Thor gave a light shrug.

" Friend Steve went ahead and prepared the afternoon meal, and since you were to leave the healing rooms today, he decided to make a feast of it."

Loki blinked owlishly before his face clouded over.

" I am not hungry, I wish to go to my room." He said grimly. Thor was about to protest when Bucky gripped Loki by his uninjured arm and gently forced him to turn so that they were facing each other. Bucky smiled, albeit a little sadly when Loki refused to meet his gaze, a great deal of emotion veiled beneath a patina of indifference in his striking green eyes. With a sigh Bucky reached up with his normal hand and cupped Loki's unbruised cheek, waiting for the mage to finally look up and meet his blue-eyed gaze as he spoke.

" Don't be like that, everybody wants to see you now that you're back on your feet, and believe me, you really don't wanna miss Steve's cooking, especially when he decides goes all out."

" Does the good Captain honestly believe that we're all suddenly friends? That he can just cook up a feast and we will all be smiling and laughing in unity? He should not have troubled himself so, I will not be party to such nonsense and-" The rest of Loki's words were silence by familiar lips pressing against his own in a gentle kiss. Loki tried to remain unresponsive, but soon found himself melting into the kiss, not caring at all that Thor was there to witness. When they drew back finally, Bucky gave Loki a stern yet fond look.

" It's not nonsense and you know it Silvertongue." Loki glowered, but remained pointedly silent. Thor then stepped forward.

" Yes Brother, the son of Barnes is right. Friend Steve and the others are eager to see you. They do not seek to patronize you brother, only to wish you well and show that they are gladdened that you are recovering. Please do not close yourself off to us brother, do not cling to a wall that has already crumbled."

Loki's eyes flashed dangerously, and there were a few tense seconds before Loki finally seemed to deflate as he sent Thor a withering look.

" Since when did you get so poetic you blundering oaf?" Thor just laughed and reached out to clasp Loki's uninjured shoulder while Bucky smiled. A few moments later, the elevator was coming to a smooth stop at the communal floor right below Tony's penthouse.

When the doors slid open with a soft chime, Loki straightened his spine and kept his face carefully neutral as he stepped out of the lift first, with Bucky and Thor side by side behind him.

" And the pasty magic noodle lives."

There were several eye rolls at Tony's words as the rest of the Avengers looked up to see Loki arrive with Bucky and Thor in tow. A warning look from Thor was enough for them to get the hint, don't get up and crowd around. Steve walked around the island in the kitchen area and was the only one to come forward and greet the three new arrivals.

" How are you feeling Loki?" The super soldier asked as he took in the healing mage.

Loki wiggled the fingers of his injured arm within its sling and gave a light half-shrug.

" I am well enough." Loki replied simply before his green eyes went to the communal dining table already laden with a few dishes, that, if Loki were completely honest with himself, look absolutely splendid. Loki's first instinct was to say something caustic, but remembering how besides Bucky and Thor, Steve had been the first to come and see him and speak to him civilly, Loki quashed down the now inborn habit and instead decided to be civil himself.

" Thor tells me that you have prepared a fine afternoon meal to mark my release from the healing ward. You need not have gone to the trouble." Steve just shook his head.

" Don't mention it I just... It's my way of saying welcome back." Loki nodded at this, and then a slightly awkward pause passed between everyone until Bruce lightly cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention.

" Hey, why don't you have a seat Loki?" The Hulk's counterpart suggested. " Steve's not quite done yet. I'd like to have a look at your arm if that's okay?"

Feeling himself stiffen minutely despite himself because this was Bruce after all, Loki then nodded and made his way over to the plush sofa in the living room area, sending a small nod Clint's way as he passed the Archer and took a seat. Bucky and Thor took seats nearby while Tony, Clint, and Natasha watched on with interest as Bruce took a seat on Loki's right side were he had been injured.

" How has your range of motion been with your arm?" Bruce asked as he gently undid the sling's clip at Loki's opposite shoulder. Loki allowed the touch seeing as to how genuinely interested Bruce seemed about his injury as he spoke.

" The pain is there but more feeling has returned over these few days, I shall attempt to start healing my arm with my seidr later today." When Bruce asked him to make the best fist he could manage, Loki complied wordlessly while Tony spoke.

" Hey, when you do try to use your mojo, how about you come down to the lab so me and Bruce can get some readings?" Iron Man suggested.

Loki was silent for a moment before he quirked one of his perfect onyx eyebrows and spoke.

" You're actually asking me to come to your laboratory, not demanding that I allow myself to be subject to your tests under the threat of unleashing the Hulk should I refuse?" He asked.

Bruce had the propriety to flush with embarrassment and a little bit of shame, while Tony snorted and allowed a smirk to curve up the corner of his lip as he spoke.

" Lighten up Rock of Ages, that was in the beginning, you earned that treatment for all the crap you pulled. Now things are gonna be different since we are all sorta on the path of not hating you so much any more." Tony's smirk then softened into a vaguely hopeful look as he continued. " So are you gonna come down to the lab or not?"

Loki sat mute for a moment before he allowed one of his signature smirks to spread across his face.

" I shall come down to your laboratory and allow you to observe me use my seidr, but you shall have to give me something in return." The Trickster declared, looking regal and sure of himself. Bucky barely bit back the urge to grin like an idiot because it was honestly one of the most attractive things about Loki that he loved seeing, this confidence.

Knowing that he was opening himself up to possibly anything, Tony weighed his options for a moment and then decided, in the name of science.

" If it isn't anything too outlandish, I might allow it. What do you want?"

" I want the constant surveillance I am under to be lifted after I fulfill you wish to study my healing magic. I grow quite weary of being under such constant watch, especially since I already have Heimdall's all-seeing gaze to contend with."

" Now wait just a minute, I can't suddenly lift everything and-" Tony began to protest when Loki just held up his hand.

" Man of Iron, I do not ask for free reign of this tower. All I want is for the surveillance when I am in my personal rooms to cease. Sir Jarvis can remain my other sentinel as he is for the rest of you, but no more of your video recording of the happenings of my bed chamber. While James' visits have offered some reprieve, I grow tired of having to use my magic to transport to his room, or for him to have to reach mine under secrecy. Do you agree to these terms that I have laid out before you Man of Iron?"

There was a tense silence as everyone turned their eyes to Tony, even Steve who had been listening intently from the kitchen area, wanting to see just whether or not Tony would agree to what Loki had asked for. The silence lingered until Tony let out this much put upon sign and spoke.

" Fine, but don't make me regret giving you back this much privacy Reindeer Games." Loki just smirked, while he subtly leaned backwards so that his back pressed against Bucky's shoulder where the Winter Soldier sat behind him.

" After all these months, I shall covet not being watched by your Jarvis at least." Tony just snorted while Thor chuckled deeply. Bruce allowed himself a smile as he redid the clasp on Loki's sling, while Clint rolled his eyes and Natasha allowed the barest curve of her lips. Steve chuckled lightly as well before the timer on the oven went off behind him and he went to take the lasagna out.

" You're really demanding you know that?" Tony muttered as he turned to switch on the TV. Loki's smirk softened into a quiet smiled as he glanced over his shoulder at Bucky and spoke.

" Well according to some, I am a demanding prick. I have no problem with that." Bucky's blue eyes lit up with mirth as he remembered the very good nigh on which he had called the Trickster such, and why.

Emboldened, Bucky reached up and wrapped his flesh and bone arm around Loki's shoulder and pulled him close. Loki for his part simply relaxed and settled into the hold, not giving a damn that they were both in the presence of the rest of the Avengers as they both turned their gazes to the TV. Thor smiled, albeit it had a bitter-sweet edge as he to turned his attention to the big screen, subtly observing both the lovers and the rest of the team out the corner of his eye.

Bruce and Tony were lightly bickering over the remote because Bruce wanted to change it, but Tony wasn't budging, cause an episode of Ridiculousness was on and he wanted to enjoy the numerous face-plants. Natasha was lounging on another plush sofa, with Clint basically perched on the back behind her, her shoulder touching his leg.

They watched people doing stupid things for a little while, until Steve finally called everyone to the table. While Clint and Tony both scrambled over, with Bucky surprisingly right behind them, the other's were more sedate as they reached the table with the formidable spread it was laden with. Thor pulled out a chair for Loki, who send the blond an annoyed look, but with a hint of fondness as he took the offered seat, Bucky taking up the seat on one side while Thor took the other.

Without any preamble or speech, everybody dug in and began to relish in their own ways because Steve's cooking was top notch as always. Loki himself had taken a particular liking to Steve's chicken and green bean casserole and also the beef lasagna, which he was eating with his uninjured left hand, insisting regardless of how awkward it was, especially since he knew that if he could, Thor would have been spoon feeding him himself. Yeah, when Hell froze over. Loki had given his complements to the chef and made Steve blush when it brought about a veritable deluge of everybody else's compliments.

As they all ate together, truly together, Loki looked around the table, from his metal-armed lover and oaf of a big brother, to the rest of the people he lived with. While most of him held on to the wariness and mistrust, believing this would all just blow up into one giant mess because of his nature and their shared history, a part of him, and very small part mind you that was still an optimist began to think that maybe this could work. Maybe this second chance could truly be a second chance at life and even happiness. Loki decided to take this for what it was really as he went back to eating his serving of casserole however awkwardly.

This was a start, maybe to something good, maybe something bad, but still a start.


End file.
